Unbreakable
by OniZenmaru
Summary: AU. Follow the lives of a group of boys whose destinies are tied together by the red string of Fate. Watch as they grow from children to adults, going through life in the most unusual of situations. Lockon/Setsuna/Lyle, Alle/Tieria/Halle
1. The Meeting Chapter

**A/N:** Hello all! I've finally decided to branch off from my usual fandom, and here I am. This will be my first 00 fic, so be a little gentle.

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Childhood…it was something people only received one of, and if lost it couldn't be recovered. It was the time where everything was innocent, where everything could help shape the person you were going to be. It might not have necessarily been a pleasant experience for everyone, but one thing was for sure it shared both its good and bad moment that buried themselves deep into the physic where they waited. For what you ask? To be remembered through the senses many years later, causing tears, laughter, or overwhelming joy. To just define something such a childhood as a 'period in ones life where someone were young' did it no justice; it was the single most important moment in anyone's life and it needed to be experienced for some to full understand it.

But first memories needed to be made, and that was exactly what he was doing. It wasn't hard for the small child who stood behind the woman with the pretty hair to figure out that he was making one right now; however, it was much harder for him to figure out if he was going to remember this moment for its absolute absurdity or its massive devastation of the image of the person standing right in front of him. To understand the situation one needed to go back to how all of this started, and it was a journey that started out so normal but somewhere along the way became very…interesting.

Change was not his friend nor was it something he desired on a regular basis, but that was what he received on a Friday afternoon…which just happened to be the Friday that signaled the start of summer vacation. It was hot that day, like most days in the summer were, and the only thing he wanted to do was go home and take a nap. July was just one of those months that made people lazy; the heat forced everyone to just want to crash, but of course if people just decided to just stop working money would be lost (his father was a businessman so he understood the value of it). Everyone was busy this time of year; if you weren't planning on just lying around the house all day one needed to prepare for what kind of vacation was going to be taken, be it for a few days or the entire month. For him he didn't really need to worry about such things, seeing that his mother had never wanted go anywhere since his family had moved there.

Japan was nice…he didn't mind moving to such a far place; it wasn't like he had any friends that would miss him if he left or people that would cry for him, but maybe that just him being naïve or selfish. His parents could've very well had people they missed and missed them in return, but he wasn't the type to get involved with their personal lives so he didn't really know. The only thing he hated about the move was the plane ride…thirteen hours on a plane was not good for a child his age, and he didn't need to be an adult to know that. He was nine at the time and didn't know what the word 'patient' meant after the first four hours, and he had held out for a reasonable amount of time before he decided that enough was enough. Sleeping was out of the question because he had just done so for the past three hours. He was young which meant his attention was going to wander from on thing to another…and it did.

Humming, pressing that little 'call flight attendant' button, asking that inevitable question 'are we there yet?' was just about all he could think of doing. He wasn't doing it to be annoying, nor was he doing it to get a good kick out of it. Time needed to be passed and by any means necessary, annoying or otherwise. His mother tried to calm him down, telling him that once they arrived they get to see their father and that they'd get to live somewhere very 'lovely'. That worked to a certain degree, mainly because he had not seen his father for an entire month. He had gone ahead to make sure everything was taken care of, which was a rather smart move on his part because the last thing anyone wanted was to end up in a foreign land with nothing. He looked up to that man, even if his work hours were hellish and he didn't get to see him often. It was a small price to pay for providing a good life for his family.

He didn't need to worry about learning the language since his mother was fluent in it, having studied it since birth and lived in the country for six years. She did well at teaching him everything that was needed to know, and that contributed to the fact that she was, well, a teacher. She taught grades six through eight, but by no means did it mean that she was not graced with the knowledge of a woman who'd educated masses for years. His father told him that if she wanted she could've so easily quite her job to pursue a career with a little more challenge, i.e. high school level or college. But she loved children, and unfortunately she was not graced with the body to bare them; he just happened to be born by chance and the doctors had told her that the odds of her having another one were slim to nothing. They also told her if she ever tried again it would kill her; he was old enough to understand the concept of death, and he knew if that woman was no longer around he wouldn't know how to function.

Putting that aside, she was rather happy to move since she said there was someone she'd been meaning to visit for years. The person she spoke of was apparently very close to her since his mother spoke very fondly of them. When asked who they were he was told that it was a 'secret' and it would reveal itself overtime. Cryptic was something his mother was not, which meant that his person was someone _very_ important; however, she did tell him that she had know said person since birth.

Upon landing he really didn't allow himself to look around all that much, wanting to do so once he was firmly settled in. He didn't want to grow accustomed to something that was not guaranteed, having found such beauty in something but having it quickly snatched away. Change was not his friend…and with a big change like this, no matter how much he really like or disliked it was still something he needed to reel him in. He was not all that hard to please, but when it came to something this big it not only needed to please him it needed to perform feats thought not possible by any. In short…he wanted this place to make him love it. To be pleased was one thing but to love was another; someone could be 'pleased' with a crappy paint job on a house but to be 'love'…that was to be engrossed in it, to want it unconditionally and without question. _That_ was someone only his parents had done…

His father had met them there on their arrival, and of course he just had to perform the 'run and jump' on him just because he hadn't seen the man in a whole month. When asked how his flight was by him he answered the man truthfully…boring and long. After a small conversation between the three of them, they left for the baggage claim to retrieve what little luggage they had brought with them. Everything they owned was already on its way to their home, and by the time they left the airport and arrived at their new humble-abode the moving men would have already arrived. Of course curiosity got the better of him and he tried his best to hold back his eagerness, even if the harder he tried the more it showed.

Once they had collected everything, all three of them headed for the main entrance. His father had also purchased a new car just so they could fit in, and it wasn't really like he minded if the man did such a thing. A car was a car, as long as it moved and got them to their destination it didn't matter what it looked like. He just hopped the ride wouldn't be too long, since the plane had taken its toll on him and if another three to four hours was necessary to reach wherever they were going he was going to snap. Luckily for him (or rather everyone) it only took two hours to reach their new home, and once it had come into view he could see the movers pulling out the many pieces of furniture and bringing them inside. The house itself looked nice, other then the fact that it looked like the neighboring homes. After lying eyes on it the first thing that, the first thing that popped into his head was just how different this place was going to be. Granted his mother had filled him in about what life was like there, but that kind of information could only go so far.

He received the answer to that question once he started attending school; he deducted rather quickly that the new kid was not always the most popular one. Being picked on wasn't something he was new to, having gone through the same thing back in the States. The name calling, the pranks, the just plain harassment…he was use to it and like before he told no one about it. Stressing out his mother or his father was not on his agenda, so it was better for him to just keep it all to himself for the sake of his parent's heath. Why should such small things bother him? Or for that matter why have them bother his parents? So nothing had changed…

Saying he was alright with living like that was a horrible thing to do, even if it meant explaining just why he came home looking so disheveled. But what he wasn't alright was what took place a year later; after coming home from school he was surprised to see both of his parents home. His father always worked late and was never back until late, around the time he was in bed so seeing while the sun was still up meant that something was going on. After taking a seat he was told that his father had been transferred (once again) to a different office. This wasn't a bad thing; it only meant that he was much more qualified to work in a different environment, but that also meant that change was about to come barreling his way. A different office meant a moving again, and moving again meant trying to readjust himself once more…not to say he had come to love this place. But where he was told they'd be moving made him turn his head ever so slight in '…huh?' It was a village…now he didn't mind moving to such a place, and he didn't mind at all the nearest town was a few miles away. What he did mind was the fact that he would have to move _again_.

But he couldn't very well reject the decision his parents had made; he never once questioned them and knew they were always right. This was something that would affect their lives, and with that he knew there was no amount of whining or protest that would change anything. So once again he was forced to pack up everything he owned and relocate. This move was slightly better then the last, since there was no plane involved. Even if the car ride was long at lest he wasn't three-thousand feet in the air, and as long as he could look out the window and see just how much his surrounds were going to change also helped. The fast moving world outside his window was nothing new to him, having traveled long distances in a car prier to that moment. But what he hadn't seen before the sharp contrast of the city to a small village. He knew what a city was, he knew that it was filled with noise and people clumped together trying to get where they needed to go. The smell of people and car fumes were the only thing one could inhale in such a tight place, and it didn't help that you were bumping into someone every five seconds.

Once all of that was taken away, what would he be left with? He found out once the tall buildings were gone, left with nothing but open space and greenery. The smell of people no longer lingered in air, and the only thing he could smell was a strange freshness in the air. That wasn't to say that they're were not any people around; he saw a few of them mainly around a building that was probably a community center of some kind since there were so many adults around it. In the distance he could see a forest which was something he didn't at all in the city, it was rather large and he wondered if it was possible to explore such a place. Going to the left side of the car he could see that a small stream that looked as if it ran right into the forest, perking his interest ever so slightly.

He'd only seen places like this in books; he knew they existed but he never thought he'd lived in such a…beautiful place. Yes, he would freely admit that such a place was quite a stunning feel to it, but that did not mean he was going to like it. Upon stopping at what would be their new home, he found that that he actually wanted to look around much more then he had during his pervious stay at their old home. The other homes looked the same, but not all that much and that was a plus. The outside resembled the old style Japanese homes, but the inside had not been explored so he couldn't say the same for it. All of them were place a good distance away from the others, but they weren't far enough to the point where you couldn't peek out the window and say '_ohayou gozaimasu!_' to your neighbor (but it wasn't like it was something he'd do at all). A little further down the road he could see a much larder house, one that looked as if it held some kind of importance.

His mother caught him looking at said building and told him they'd have to visit there soon; it was the elder's house and it was only right to pay them a visit out of respect. He understood what she meant, but after looking around a little more he ask where his father would be working since there's were not any office buildings around. The nearest town was the only place where such things existed and that was were he would be working, though it was somewhat far his work hours would be changed. He was informed that the man would be home before dinner, which at their house meant around 7:30. That pleased him to know.

Once the movers had once again started placing furniture in their new home, he wondered once again how different this place was compared to his other home. He was still in Japan so there couldn't have been that much of a difference, right? School was still going to be school, there were still going to be people that teased him, and he would still keep it all to himself. But there was more good news; since summer vacation had started he did not need to worry about such a thing until August, and he didn't mind that in the slightest. Something like this needed a major adjustment, and he knew jumping into some like this wasn't going to be easy. At lest when he was in the city nothing was different, but this…this needed some getting use to.

After a few days of unpacking and getting the house just right, he was told by his mother that the person who she was apparently very fond of resided in said village. He questioned if that was also one of the reasons they had moved to such a place. She answered with a yes, and that did not irritate him in the slightest. If she wanted to see this friend of hers then she could very well do so, he had once again no say in what she did. But when she told him that he would be meeting this person because they had something to do with his life made him feel uneasy, like something was happening and he wasn't aware of it. This he did mind slightly…the uneasy feeling he was getting made him think that this person was someone horrible, wanting nothing more then to tear their family apart. But he knew deep down that his mother would never allow someone to do such a thing, since he knew she loved her family more then anything. The woman never complained about her life, unlike the other people he heard on the streets back in the States. They would always point out the bad never the good, and always seemed to want a divorce over something trivial.

But his mother never complained about anything, only wanting to make her family happy and wanting the same in return. He was content with his life, wanting nothing to change it and nothing to come in-between him and the people he loved. However, he could feel that once again change was going to come barreling through his door, but this time with something even more outrageous. And he was right…

He was taken to the home that was three houses away from his, and all the while he clung nervously to his mother's skirt. He'd never really been to another's house before, only ever gracing the steps of the front porch as he waited for his mother. So to actually go inside of someone's home was going to be an experience for him, and he wasn't sure if it was going to be a good or bad thing. If this person was important to his mother then he would do anything she asked, even if it meant him feeling completely uncomfortable. Upon arriving he held onto his mother tighter; he didn't know just what he was there for, and the only thing he could think of doing was hiding behind his mother. She told him that everything was going to be okay, but even that couldn't completely kill the feeling that _something_ was going to change. He watched as his mother knocked on the wooden door and wait; she looked rather eager to see this person and he completely understood what she was feeling. He'd gone through the same thing five minutes before meeting his father at the airport that day; the feeling of something knotting up in your stomach and not coming undone until that person was in sight…he'd felt it.

He snapped away from his thoughts when the sound of someone giving off a small scream took him by surprise. His mother was being hugged by a rather nice looking woman, and his only guess was that this was the person his mother held dear. They seemed like a nice person, but he was only basing this on how she looked which probably didn't tell him a thing about her personality. He heard his name called and his attention was now fully on the woman who was previously hugging his mother; she had a nice smile, much like his mother, but he wondered just why he was asked to come if her house was in no way far from his. When asked if he 'would like to meet someone special' he couldn't help but come out from behind his mother ever so slightly.

Someone special? Who could that have been? He nodded a little and received a very bright smile from the woman, and he wasn't sure if his little action was a good thing. The precious person disappeared into the house for a few minutes and came back with someone who looked older them he did. Not old like a 'huge gap huge', but at lest by two or three years. Which that they were taller then he was, and that further added to the fact that they were older. The person resembled their mother quite a bit, having the same exact hair texture and eye color. He didn't really like looking people in the eye all that much, but from the quick glance he could tell that their color was a blue color. Since it was so quick he couldn't tell just what shade it was, and he really had not intention of looking back any time soon. Other then that the most obvious difference was that the person was male, but of course there was personality to account for. Why was this person special? Was this the reason he'd come to this place? They seemed like a nice person as well, but then again…he was just basing it on looks.

Upon hearing his mother saying that he needed to introduce himself he winced slightly; he hated saying hello to new people more then he hated attending school. He knew that he need to do such thing if he wanted to make a good impression on people…this wasn't one of those times. This was, however, one of those times where his shyness had not only completely taken him over but had left him in a complete lack of words. When he was pushed in front of this 'important person' and knew there was no way he could talk or whine is way out of anything (not that he was the whining type). He slowly opened his mouth and said his name in a very small voice, knowing that he'd have to probably repeat it so everyone could hear him. But that wasn't the case, and he was thankful for such a thing…however…what happened next took him completely by surprise.

Surprised was not a state he could easily find himself in, but on that day he found himself literally frozen by it. This 'special person' had just stolen something away from him, something he didn't think would've been taken away in less then five seconds. He saw the motion but did not know just what the person in front of him was planning…until it was too late that is. This…'special person' had just stolen his _first kiss_. Needless to say he didn't need any explanation as to why this had happened, but he did know that the appropriate action would be to push this person away…which is what he did. After the person was a not as close to him he quickly returned to his spot behind his mother, no longer wishing to be there.

So here he currently was…wandering just what this 'special person' had to do with him, and just why his mother had brought him over to his madhouse.

"Neil! I told you not to do that once he arrived!" Said the mother of the 'special person', who was not particularly pleased with his action.

"Heh, sorry mom." The one now named as 'Neil' said, a big smile gracing his features as he spoke. This was madness…he might've only been ten but he knew madness when he saw it.

"Then introduce yourself properly." His mother's friend told the 'Neil' person. Brushing himself off, the 'Neil' person held out his hand towards him and proceeded to speak his name.

"Neil Dylandy!" He practically shouted. He looked at this 'Neil Dylandy' person's hand and then looked back at his mother, hoping that this was all a joke and that she would take him home now. But she only motioned towards the crazy person, meaning she actually expected him to shake his hand. After what seemed like hours he finally managed to muster up enough courage to touch the one known as 'Neil Dylandy', even if deep down he knew something horrible was going to happen. So he slowly came out from behind his mother once again, one hand still clinging to her skip and shook the hand of the boy he thought was absolutely nuts.

"…Setsuna F Seiei…" He said once again in a small voice, but this time adding just a little more volume to it. Oh course he was right about the whole 'something horrible was going to happen' since he was pulled into a tight embrace, and for the second time that day he was thrown completely off-guard.

"M-Mom!" He yelled, wanting his mother to pry this nutcase off of him.

"Calm down and let me explain, Sweetie." She said in a calm voice. It was with that tone that he took that this was something major, and that it would probably explain why he was being molested by some kid named 'Neil Dylandy'.

As he listened he tried his best keep himself together…because he really didn't like being touched by people he didn't know. His mother's story apparently took place years before he was even born, and that's when he knew he was in for something serious…or serious enough that it needed to be explained. Mrs. Dylandy and his mother used to be the best of friends when they were younger, always being seen with the other and hardly ever separated. That was a bond that couldn't be broken by anything, which was apparent since the two of them were currently standing in front of one another. But it was indeed tested once the two of them were married (and surprisingly their weddings were only a day apart, and both served as bridesmaids to the other).

Since the two of them weren't sure just were their lives had in store for them so they proposed a deal; it was simple enough to understand, but still in its simplify were so many factors. The two of them would offer up their first born child to the other, and gender aside they would allow the two of them to marry. So the two of them actually filled out a marriage certificate, but did not submit it until the two of them were physically born. It would've been just odd if they'd filed for a marriage of people who didn't exist just yet, wouldn't it? So everything was set, the only thing left was to let the two meet when the time was right. It might've sounded a little selfish what they did, but to have a bond such of that was something rare and they had no intentions of breaking it.

Setsuna could only stare at his mother in disbelief; did she really mean everything she said? He knew she was the kind of woman to tell him the truth, having done so for the past ten years of his life. But could he really believe her words this time? Was he really _legally_ married to the person who had robbed him of his first kiss? There was no way…but the way this 'Neil Dylandy' was holding him meant he probably knew something. As much as it pained to even look at the person holding him he needed to for this…

"…is it true…?" He asked in a small voice, wishing nothing more then to have that person let him go and say 'sorry, it's all a joke!' But at always his luck had run out and he was held even tighter.

"Yup! Setsuna-chan is my wife!" Neil said, holding him as if he were a doll. It was a joke, it was a joke, it was a sick joke he would laugh off later because there was no way it could've been true. He was only ten for starters! He had a lot of other things to think of, and being married was just going hinder whatever he had planned…whatever it was. How could he even accept this? Or it was better put that the only thing he could do was grin and bare it, no matter how much he dislike it…that's just how he dealt with things…but could he really do such a thing for this situation? It was still a horrible way to live, but that's how he'd lived his life before and that was how he would live it now…or at lest try.

After he'd gotten over the initial shock of everything, his mother told him that it was rather important for him to get to know Neil a little more. When asked just how he was going to do that he was quickly pulled away, and for what was the third time today surprised by the actions of the person he was supposed to call his 'husband'. Setsuna clearly did not enjoy being totted around like some kind of accessory, so he quickly pushed him away and told him that he would walk on his own. The taller boy looked at him for a moment then laughed a little. He might've been young but he did know when he was being made fun of, and for some reason when this person was picking with him it irritated him slightly.

"You know, you're pretty cute when you're huffy, Setsuna-chan." He said, patting him on the head. Of course his hand was swatted away.

"Don't call me that…" Setsuna muttered, still not at all pleased with anything that was going on. Before he could even get another word in he felt himself be jerked forward, pulled in a direction in which he knew nothing about. Once again before he could get any kind of word out his question was already answered; Neil told him that, since he was new, he needed to be shown around town. As much of a nice gesture it was, Setsuna was in no mood to be pulled around by someone he had just found out was his…husband. That word did not sit well with him, and no matter how he twisted the meaning of it ('the male figure in a marriage') it was very…_obvious_ that he was going to be considered the 'female' in the…he wouldn't dare considered it a relationship. It was more like a binding contract between to unsuspecting people…well, Neil seemed to be more informed then he did. For that matter was he even alright with this whole situation? Being forced to marry someone he didn't even know?

But right now he could care less about someone he'd just met only minutes ago. He didn't wish to be given a tour, but since he had nothing better to do on such a fine summer morning he went along with it. It was much hotter there then in the city, and he had no intention of putting up that much of a fight in such weather. Maybe if it was slightly less muggy then it already was he would've loved nothing more then to pull away from this psycho, spare him the humiliation of getting told off by someone younger then him, and walk back home without a second thought. But doing something like that required too much energy, and he didn't feel like wasting any unnecessary amount of it on this person.

Upon feeling himself no longer in motion, he could see that he was standing in front of a home he'd been to before. It was the elder's house, and he really had no intention of coming back to such a place any time soon. Eyeing the person next to him, he was asked if he'd met all five residents of the house. Tilting his head to the side he only remembered there being four members; there were two elderly people who sat next to one another, and by their sides were who he could've guess were their children. The two looked to be in their early forties, but other then that there were no other people around. So where had this fifth person come from? He didn't have to question anything because he was pulled away in the direction of what was the back of the house, and it was at that moment that he really just wanted to make a break for it. If they were going to break into the such a nice looking place he would blame everything on this nut-job, having wanted nothing to do with this person in the beginning so there was no way he would go down with him.

But if seemed that they were not going to perform such an illegal task, having stopped in what looked like a garden. Of course in a beautiful village there had to be places of equal beauty; it was large, and if not told that it was indeed a garden he would've easily confused it as the starting point for the forest he had previously seen. Looking around he could see such lush greenery around him; trees that varied in size with colors so vibrant it made him think that they were fake. There was a rather large manmade pond smack-dab in what he thought was the middle (since it was so large he wasn't sure if there was such a place), and from what he could see there was some sort of structure floating on it. He knew it was still probably a horrible idea, and he knew that it would be in his best interest if he just pulled away right there. But it was _still too hot_…

"Pretty nice, right?" Neil asked, not really intending his question to be answered.

"…Why are we here…?" He asked, completely ignoring whatever was being told to him.

"Looking for people." His…_husband_ told him. Setsuna once again didn't need to question anything any further, all he needed to do was let this nutcase drag him wherever and hope he didn't get put in the slammer for it. As much has he hated even the though of calling that madman his…husband, it was probably best if he just said the word over and over again. The way he saw it if he said it enough it wouldn't hurt as much, because seriously, he was really feeling the pain. He might've said that his parents were never wrong, but this time he'd have to think twice about that statement. This was probably one of the only times he felt like they had made a mistake, and it was a rather large one at that. The shorter boy was not the whining type, but he really did feel like trying to persuade his mother to think otherwise.

But he would wait…something like this took time to process, and if he just jumped right into make a rash decision he'd regret it. Pulling himself out of his thoughts once again, he found himself crossing a small bridge to…well he wasn't sure. It looked like they were heading in the direction of the structure he saw earlier, and Setsuna was sure that this was one of those 'now or never' times to back out. But he couldn't and he didn't; this person, no matter how much he hated to admit to it, was someone he needed to become close to for the sake of his mother…That's it! Now this wasn't something he would've usually thought of, but for the situation he was currently in it fit perfectly.

Instead of him constantly complaining about how unfair everything was, he would do it all for his mother. Not for the satisfaction he would be giving the person that had currently stopped walking, nor would he do it because he wanted to pretend there was some kind of attraction that would never exist…he would be doing this to keep his mother happy. Upon feeling his wrist being released, he saw that had indeed found life in this massive jungle of a garden they were in. There two of them, both looked slightly older then he did and he began to wonder if anyone in this town was _actually_ his age. The two life-forms were asleep, and he could fully understand why someone would want to flat out collapse in such heat. The one whose head was in the lap of the others looked like they were the oldest out of the two, his dark colored hair covered the right side of his face, completely covering his eye. The younger looking one was sitting up against the side of the opening to the structure, but the most striking feature this person had was their obvious feminine quality…or rather they looked like a girl when he knew they were a boy. He knew these kinds of things, he didn't know why or how but he just knew.

Setsuna watched as the older boy reached out and quickly snatched away the pretty boy's glass, and to his surprise (by this time he was no longer startled by said feeling) witness the boy give out a very violent reaction. Neil was pulled forward, and though he thought he deserved it, he winced ever so slightly as the older boy was punched in the face. So pretty boy had a mean left hook…

"Oi, oi, I was gonna give them back!" Neil said, allowing himself to laugh just enough so as to not aggravate the stinging sensation in his cheek.

"I don't care, you stupid Lecher Lockon!" Pretty boy said, snatching his glasses back and placing them on his face, "What do you want?"

"It's almost 2:30, so I was wondering when you and your boyfriend were coming over." He said in a slightly amused tone, earning him a perplexed look from the person it was direction at. The pretty boy then pushed the sleeping person off of his lap, making them wake up and groan. Setsuna at this point really wondered why they were there…and why'd he call Neil 'Lecher Lockon'?

"He's not my boyfriend! I've told you that already!" Pretty boy shouted, earning him a look from Neil.

"Yeah, sure…oh!" The older by suddenly said, pulling Setsuna in front of him as he did so. "This is my wife!"

"Your what?"


	2. The Idiot Chapter

Setsuna never really knew what the word 'humiliation' meant…until two hours ago. After being introduced as Neil's 'wife' he felt a brief burst of anger over come him…but he forced it away by remembering that his mother was riding on this…_thing_ to work. He was not allowed to complain and he would look at this in the long run…even if it meant spending his life with someone he still considered a nutcase. That thought, however, scared him slightly; he hadn't really thought much about what kind of life he was going to live once older, but now whatever he was doing meant having this person be a part of it. It was a lot for just a ten year old to think about and he knew he had all the time in the world to do so, but the underling factor was that there was going to be another person in his life that was _not_ his mother or father.

Snapping out of his trance, he noticed that he was being stared at by the two people in front of him. Apparently the older boy had told the two previously that he was married, but of course since they were in their right minds they didn't believe him. Because honesty, who would've believe a thirteen-year-old if they told you they were married? No one…but Neil had spoken the truth and Setsuna was the one now about to feel the burden of being that boy's…wife. He introduced himself (minus the 'wife' title) in the small voice like before, hoping he wouldn't have to repeat himself and also hoping he wouldn't be kissed again. The two did the same, and found out that the 'pretty boy' was the fifth member of the household Neil spoke of. As he titled his head to the side a little, he asked just why 'Tieria Erde' was wearing a kimono if he was a boy (Setsuna was not aware that he was wearing one until he stood).

He was told that since he was a member of the Erde family as well as the first born child in the head family, he was required to wear one whenever their feet touched family soil. It was a tradition started many years before he was born, but the full details of everything were kept from him until the time was right. However, he was told that it was a very uncommon thing for a male to be the first born in the family. When asked by Setsuna if that was the reason he was not present the other day, he was quickly given an 'another time another place' response. That meant that he was about to cross a forbidden threshold which he could not tread upon just yet…maybe later.

The one who had been pushed off of Tieria's lap was named 'Allelujah Haptism', and he was the second oldest out of the four of them. After hearing that the order in which everyone would've been place would start Setsuna,Tieria, Allelujah, and Neil. Or better put ten, eleven, twelve, and thirteen. It was hard to believe that it was just a coincidence that four people in that particular order knew one another, but stranger things have happened before…just not like this. It was odd…Setsuna was not going to go out there and say this was fate playing some kind of game, however; it would've been unwise to not dwell on such a thing a little longer. Fate was sneaky thing, and it was indeed know for making things possible that one thought otherwise impossible to occur. For example him just being there; could it really go without saying that his fate had already been sealed a birth, and for that matter Neil's as well. But the major difference between the two of them was how they were responding to it.

Neil seemed all too willing to accept the fact that his life was about to be given to someone, a person who he didn't even know in the slightest…Maybe it was all a façade, a false front put up so he could deal with this…marriage. Maybe deep down he actually detested the whole thing, secretly cursing the younger boy for ruining his life. If it was he was doing a bang-up job of it, seeing that Setsuna himself couldn't tell what he was thinking. Since he was young he knew how to pander to other, that particular trait allowed him to read people and know exactly what they wanted. It was something he didn't use all that much, only around teachers and other adults his parents brought home…but he just couldn't seem to use it on his…husband. Upon first meeting him he thought Neil was something like his mother, but that thought was quickly shattered when he stole his first kiss. So just what was he?

After remembering what the older boy had said about the time, Tieria said that he could not join them for their 'afternoon power block'. Of course at this Setsuna had to question just what he was talking about…and he really wished he hadn't. He jumped ever so slightly when he was hugged around the neck from behind, almost wanting to bite the older boy's arm. He was told that every afternoon a bunch of his friends would come over and they just watch TV for two hours, and though it didn't seem like much it was rather fun. Setsuna looked at him for a good moment, letting everything process just incase he something rude accidently slipped out of his mouth. When his moment was over he asked why in the world someone would do such a thing, since people really did have better things to do on a weekday afternoon. But when he was asked what he usually did in the afternoon…he couldn't answer. After school there was homework, but after that there was nothing…there was no TV, no games, no going outside to play…he just stated in his room and lied in bed.

There was seriously nothing he wanted to do after everything he had to do was done, and he knew that too was a horrible way to live. Kids his age needed stimulation everyday day, but for some reason he just wasn't motivated to leave the house unless necessary. He didn't interact with other kids his age, which was probably one of the many reason's his mind set a slightly different then theirs. He was around his parents more so then other kids (aside from school), so he really didn't know about anything what so called 'normal' children in his age-group did often. Did that make him a bad person?

After he told (or rather having his eardrum busted) that he was missing out on his childhood, he was dragged away by his…husband. Allelujah followed behind them while Tieria stayed, calling out to him to 'be back by five'. Since the second oldest seemed stable, Setsuna decided to push Neil away and opted to walk new to him. If he was going all the way back to that nutcase's house, he at lest want to walk next to someone who wasn't going to treat him like a doll. But there came a price with his decision…he was not the talkative type when it came to new people, and right now Allelujah seemed to be in a talkative mood. It was obvious that the boy was curious about him, since he had just found out that he was…married to his friend. Setsuna, however, was not in a talkative mood, having only known him for a mere few second. His mother had told him that communication with others was the quickest way one could learn about someone, but that option didn't seem available.

Call him sheltered, because he knew he was and it was by his own doing. He was never very sociable, having never even thought of having someone over or talking to anyone during break at school. Setsuna didn't mind this in the slightly, only seeing kids not talking to him as a break from their harassment. But now he had been trusted into a place where everyone actually wanted to talk to him. The last time someone had 'actually wanted to talk to him' the person was quickly shunned, leading to them being beat up and him receiving the same thing from them. Maybe the world was unfair, but it was the one he lived in and the one he would accept…no matter how much it hurt him. He wouldn't cry, he wouldn't whine, he wouldn't even speak out against it; he would just sit back and take it…since that was the only thing he knew.

Once he was back in a familiar place, he saw Allelujah jet passed him and run up to Neil's front door. As he stopped, Setsuna could see that the second oldest was being scolded by someone who looked as if they were waiting. To this the youngest began to question his eye sight a little, since he could see that there were two Allelujahs. One was dishing out the abuse while the other was taking it, and with this he finally decided to ask his…husband for an answer. He gently pulled on his sleeve to get his attention, and knew this action was beneath him, but…he didn't know what else to do. Of course it got him noticed and it got him hugged, which by know he just figured it was becoming a reflex to the older boy. He signed and asked just why he was seeing double, but it was drowned out the by 'wow, that was really cute!' he was receiving because of that stupid little action. Really now, was this guy really a teenager?

After he had finally stopped he was told what he wanted to hear; the person scolding Allelujah was his twin, it was as plain and simple as that. But he was also told that he wasn't the only one who had one, and it wasn't completely uncommon to see them around town. There was just something about it…be it in the water or the air, having a twin in that particular town was not only uncommon but it was considered good luck. And of course Setsuna was given the very mushy 'I guess I am lucky because I have you' line which made him sigh in complete misery. Setsuna wasn't always quick to catch on to subtle things, but when he finally caught onto what Neil had really said his gaze quickly shot over from the fighting twin and up at the older boy. There were…two of him? When asked if such a thing was true, his…husband simply nodded like it wasn't all that big of a deal. It was…the youngest could barely handle one clingy nutcase, but two? That's where he drew that line.

Just as he was about to break away from the older boy's grasp, he noticed Allelujah being dragged away by his twin. Did…did that mean he'd be watching TV with his…husband alone? That was the straw that broke the camel's back, because there no way he was sitting in that nutcase's house and doing anything with him! But this was for his mother…he would endure whatever was thrown at him all for her sake. Just for her…and no one else.

Once inside the boy's house Setsuna removed his shoes, following the custom of respecting the house so as to not allow the floors to get dirty. Since he was so young, he found that learning new customs were not as hard as he thought they were. Speaking a little saying before and after a meal, bowing to show respect to adults, addressing people with the correct honorifics, all of this was easily remembered through practice. That particular change he didn't mind in the slightest, seeing it as necessary to live in said area. As soon as he pulled the left one off he was pulled away, up a flight of stairs he'd never seen before and into a room he really wished he'd hadn't seen. Without being told he already knew he was in Neil's room, and to his surprise it was rather well kept. He half expected it to be a compete mess, but…this was the first time he'd ever set foot in someone's room before. Setsuna knew it probably wasn't fair to compare such a place to his own, but that was the only place he knew of that was similar to the one he was standing in.

He was pulled down on a futon and found that it was rather soft. This too was a first for him; the only thing coming close to it would've been a sleeping bag (that was a very bad camping experience). But of course he could not enjoy such a soft place for too long, since he was pulling into a tight hug from behind and he literally had to hold onto the fabric below him to keep form punching him. When he felt Neil gently place his chin on the top of his head, he could've sworn he tore the fabric to the very nice futon right there. He didn't like being held like a…a…a doll! He wasn't some inanimate object that could be treated however the owner wanted, no, he was a human being! But…this was for his mother…he said he'd do it for her and he meant it.

So he would sit with his…husband behind him, watching as he flipped on the screen to the TV. He wondered just what they were going to watch, since he himself was not a TV person. Not because he thought it was bad or because he parents condoned it, he just never found in interest in it…like many other things. His life was boring…but he did recognize that because it was that way he felt, well, empty. He didn't have anyone other then his parents, and just having them was not enough to make his ten year old life whole. Setsuna knew that just coming home, doing homework and lying in bed was causing him to have a lackluster life, however; he didn't know just why he acted like that when he was fully aware that he shouldn't. Allowing the abuse of others to slide and letting his boredom slide were two different things…but how do you treat something you know nothing about? Was he happy? He could only say for sure that he was content, but the word happiness was not something he could throw around so easily.

When he heard footsteps approaching the door he tensed, not knowing just who was going to open the door. Deep down he hoped it was his mother, telling him that it was time to go home and taking him away from such a horrid place. But of course…he was wrong. As he watched the door open he was once again face with a mirror image of someone he knew (well…he knew what they looked like), and once again he was in awe. It was probably because of his isolation that he had never actually seen someone's doppelganger in person, so he could only stare at the person who resembled Neil Dylandy almost perfectly…almost. Their eyes…and even though he had only glanced at them, he could tell they were different. They were green compared to Neil's blue ones, but he didn't linger long enough to find out just what shade it was once again.

They seemed slightly surprised to see him in their home, which was understandable considering he neither lived there nor had he come in contact with either of them until that today. The doppelganger hesitantly entered the room and sat next to his brother, Setsuna taking note that his attention was focused on the ground. After a few minutes the doppelganger spoke, asking his brother if the thing he was holding was 'that person', making the youngest feel more like an object then a human. Of course Neil responded buy just hugging him tighter, adding a little 'of course!' to make it official. Setsuna groaned loudly; his loyalty to his mother was strong, but…this person was really starting to test him. It was for her, it was for her, it was for her, but dammit…lines were being crossed!

When he heard the name 'Lyle' come out of the mouth of his…husband, his attention was once again directed to him. Was that his name? Looking back over at him the youngest found that it was only right for him to introduce himself to his…brother-in-law? If was going to attempt to make this for in his mother's favor he needed to put his shyness behind him! But if it was that easily he would've done it already…instead he was going back and forth between the TV and the very silent twin. But his attention fully stopped on the television when the opening to some kind of show come on, and well…he was completely captivated. The first thing he noticed were the words 'Mobile Suit Gundam' appearing on the screen and he was automatically interested…what was a 'Mobile Suit Gundam'? Not in the questioning mood he decided to just sit and watch, wanting to figure it out for himself.

And boy did he…for the next two hours he was engrossed in a world he didn't think existed, a world filled with giant robots, powerful attacks, and a plot that completely fascinated him. He couldn't turn away from it or move, fearing the smallest motion would cause him to miss something important. Was this what TV was about? Being thrown into a situation that didn't seem possible, but going along with it because it was entertain? He needed to watch a little more if it was always like this…

But when the program was over he was a little more then displeased. He blurted out that he 'wanted to see more' and questioned 'why they ended it right there'. Both brothers looked at him for a good moment then busted into a fit of laughter, something Setsuna was use to but…not like this. This was… humiliation, a feeling he never felt even as the other children back home teased him horribly. This…hurt. Violently pushing Neil away, he bolted for the door intending to just run home and hide. But before he could even reach the door way he was pulled back, hugged once again from behind but this time much tighter. Though his determination was strong, he only walked about two feet before falling to the ground. Crawling seemed completely out of the question, since his…husband had decided to drag him back into the room by his leg.

"This is imprisonment!" Setsuna shouted, trying his best to release himself from Neil's grasp.

"It is not! It's just…um….oi, Lyle, what is this?" He asked his brother, who looked like a strange cross between bored and irritated.

"It's imprisonment, Nii-san…" Lyle started, finding the actions of his brother a little ridiculous, "If you're keeping someone against their will, it's imprisonment without a doubt…"

"What? I'm not keeping him against his will. He wants to be here-

"Yes, because we all know everyone wants to be dragged around by their leg, Lockon…" His brother shot back at him, getting up and breaking Neil's grasp on Setunsa's leg.

"Oi, I told you not to call me that in the house!"

There was that name again…it was the second time that day he'd heard someone call his…husband that, minus the 'lecher' part this time. Going against his better judgment once again, Setunsa decided to stay and watch the two fight. He sat in the doorway and tried his best to figure out just what kind of people those two were. If he was going to be tugged around by someone, he should at lest figure out what they were like even if doing so meant he'd being trapped inside with them. Neil seemed to take everything as a joke, never going above the usual 'oh really?' or 'yeah sure'. But there was a hint of something serious as he spoke, like he already knew what his brother was going to say before the words even come out of his mouth. Did that mean he knew how to play with people? Or was just because he knew the other boy so well?

Lyle on the other hand seemed a tad more aggressive, shooting off comments like 'you're a horrible husband' which must've pushed some sort of button inside of Neil. But it was the fact that he throw around such insults that drew his attention to him; it really did seem like he held some sort of resentment towards his brother for some reason. Aside from the 'argument' the two were in which he always seem to pull Setsuna into, when Lyle came into the room he didn't seem interesting in anything other then the youngest. He could tell the other Dylandy was watching him even while he was so engrossed in the show, his eyes completely fixated on him almost the entire time. At the time Setsuna pretended he didn't notice, but he had…wondering briefly just why he was being looked at.

But now that he thought about it the other twin situation was odd. His mother had said that the deal involved the first born, but there were two Dylandy boys. How did she choose? The most obvious of tactics would've been whoever…well…_popped out_ first. But there seemed to be some sort of conflict between the two of them, like the decision had been made much sooner then believed. Maybe that's what the problem was…the twins were not told of the marriage until probably sometime during the past month, or for that matter probably a week before the youngest arrived. With that neither of them knew that one of them was going to be the 'husband' in said marriage, and when the time came Lyle somehow received the short end of the stick.

"…Lyle likes me…" Setsuna said flatly, completely stopping both twins in the middle of their sentences.

"W-what? N-no I don't!" Lyle said, taking a few steps back.

"Well of course you do!" Neil said, walking over and sitting behind the youngest, basically repeating the same action he was while watching TV.

"S-Shut up…" He said, trying his best to hide the obvious blush on his face. So he was right…as he thought before Setsuna now had two nutcases to watch out for. However…the other Dylandy wasn't the one hugging him now was he? But the real question was this…could either of them like him if they didn't even know them him? He had only recently moved to that town, and the only way for them to have any information on him was if his mother had called them. Since neither of them seemed to know a thing about him (other then the fact that he was Neil's…wife), it was clear that there was no logical reason for either of them to be in so called 'love'. That irritated him…he didn't like being played with…not like this.

Pushing Neil away once again, he made his way to and down the stairs. Setsuna might not have been the kind of kid to show his emotions openly, but he knew that they were something that should not be toyed with by anyone. He was still human and he still could feel pain…but this was probably the first time he'd been hurt by someone so close to his age. His loyalty to his mother would have to wait till tomorrow since he was completely done with both of the Dylandy boys…

"Wait a minute, where are you going, Setsuna-chan?" Neil asked, come up behind him just as he slipped his shoes on.

"Home…I'm really tired of playing this stupid game for today…" He said, opening the door to head out.

"What game?" Neil questioned, reaching out and grabbing his hand.

"The 'I love you' one…you and brother are really annoying now…" Setsuna said, pulling away from him. As he began to talk back to his place, he noticed that he was being followed, and since he was no longer in the mood to deal with his…husband any longer he stopped, turned, and pushed him back.

"Wait, wait, you think it's a game? I would never do that…I really mean what I say about you." The oldest said, reaching over and pulling Setsuna into a gentle hug, "I really do love you."

"Do you ever stop?" He muttered, pushing him away once again.

"If you don't believe me then I'll prove it to you." The oldest said, leaning forward and pressing his lips against Setsuna's for the second time that day. Instead of being pushed away he was slapped, and it surprisingly stung more then the punch from Tieria_._

"That doesn't mean you love me! That's just proves you're a pervert!" Setsuna shouted, now feeling so disgusted with the whole situation. He couldn't take this anymore, quickly turning on his heel he stormed home. He didn't want to be touched like that, he didn't want someone he didn't even know putting their hands on him. He hated it; that nutcase…no…that pervert had sent him over the edge. This had to have been the first strong emotion he'd let out in an extremely long time, and he really didn't care that it just happened to uncontrollable rage.

"Setsuna-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" He yelled as he turned around, not even wanting to hear is own name any longer, "YOU'RE AN IDIOT! A STUPID BOY WHO DOESN'T EVEN KNOW ME! THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL I'D EVER FALL FOR YOU! I HATE YOU! AND FOR THE LAST GODDAMN TIME, _**YOU DON'T LOVE ME**_!"

Silence filled the air, the only sound that could be heard were the cicadas screeching ever so loudly, as well as Setsuna's ragged panting. _That_ had been the first time he'd ever yelled, the first time he'd raised his voice against another human being. It hurt his throat terribly so he coughed a little, feeling the full sting at he did so. He hated when people yelled…he found it unnecessary and detested the very sound of it. But he had just done the very thing he couldn't stand, so what did that mean? Taking two steps back, he quickly fled from his spot; he didn't know what to think at that moment, only that he needed to get away from that person…the cause of everything.

He didn't care if he left Neil standing there with a confused look on his face, nor did he care that his eyes began to blur ever so slightly…he just wanted to go home.

* * *

His brother was an idiot…that was the only thing he could think as he watched him try to stop his…wife. As much as he looked up to the boy as the older twin, there were just some things he couldn't understand about him. If that were him out there…well…it wouldn't have been. He would've stayed inside and let him go, because it was obvious that the kid needed some major space. But the other Dylandy apparently didn't know what that word meant, and his persistence is what would cause the whole relationship to either blossom or crumble. That was not wishing his brother any sort of ill fate (sort of), all he wanted was for their lives to go on just like it had before the knowledge of Setsuna was ever given to them…because him just because around was going to cause so much trouble.

At lest at that time his brother was around, and he in no way felt like nothing but a tag-along…even if the other Dylandy was a completely different person. Neil was not as upbeat as he was now; always put up a fake front for people, even the ones he considered his friends was just about all he did. Lyle would sometimes overhear the other talking to himself, saying that he wanted to grow up as quickly as possible so he could 'get over this stupid feeling'…whatever that meant. Even if he didn't know what exactly that meant, it was clear that his brother was in some kind of distress. It was during that time that he felt needed…like his brother needed someone just to be there, never questioning him and being the figure in his life that wouldn't pass judgment on him like some kind of parent.

That was, however, until one Setsuna F Seiei entered their lives…he remembered that day. It took place a month ago, and both were completely blindsided by it. The two of them were just coming in after playing with Allelujah and Tieria (well, it was more like being yelled at by Tieria while Allelujah watched from the sidelines), both of them were tired and in desperate need of a nap. But once they'd set foot in the house they heard…nothing. Since their mother was a stay-at-home wife to hear nothing, well, that was frankly a very scary feeling. After looking at the other for a good three seconds, both of them bolted off in the same direction. Up the stairs they ran, hoping that nothing horrible had befallen their beloved mother. Once they'd reached their parents a stiff silence filled the air; what if…what if she had taken her own life? It was not something a child should ever have to think about, but it was still a possibly. As Lyle slowly turned the knob, he and his brother prepared for the worst…or were they just overacting? Were their exhausted minds just messing with them? Nah.

When the 'click' of the door was finally heard both of them flung it open, which probably wasn't that great of an idea since the two tripped over the other, forcing both to come crashing to the ground. Okay…maybe that was a little too fast. But all was not lost; their mother was sitting on her bed speaking to someone on the phone. Both boys left out a loud sigh of relief, mental slapping themselves for even allowing such an awful thought to form. After finding out she was fine, both sat and waited patiently for her to finish. There was nothing more impolite then interrupting someone while they were on the phone…but busting into someone's room when you thought they were dead was completely okay in their books. Lyle seemed to be the only one actually paying attention to what she was saying, and though he was listening he didn't really understand what she was talking about. Was…someone getting married?

Upon seeing her hang up the phone both of them were handed a pictures of someone. It was obvious that neither of them knew the person, but when their mother said that this person would be a part of their lives both of them were quickly interested in what she had to say. She began to tell them a story of how she and an old friend of hers made some kind of deal. As she continued, Lyle happened to glance over at his brother and the look he had on his face disturbed him slightly. Joy…pure joy. He'd never seem him like that before…like a switch inside of him had just been flipped on and he could see everything.

And that meant Lyle was no longer needed…and over the following weeks he found out just how much he was pushed to the background. All his brother would talk about was that Setsuna F Seiei person, wanting nothing more then to meet his new 'wife'. Lyle freely gave up the option of being that person's husband (well, he didn't have much of a choice in the matter), since it was obvious that his brother desperately wanted the position…and he did not know at the time that he was giving himself the short end of the stick. But before that was even apparent he hated that person…Setsuna F Seiei had snatched his brother away without even physically being there, and that was unforgivable. He wanted him to never come, so his brother's hope could be crushed to the point where he was indeed needed again. But…did he really want that? The last thing he wanted was for his brother to break, and he might've thought he hated the one called Setsuna F Seiei but over time he found out what that feeling truly was…He was envious of that person, since he had gotten his brother to act more…cheerful. He had done something he had failed at…

With envy came something even stronger; every time his brother would mention that person's name (which was at lest every five minutes), he found himself getting visibly angry and storming off to his room or the nearest closed off area. Instead of getting irritated by the name being said he was now irritated by _**his brother saying it**_. Finding out that he wasn't the one who was legally married to Setsuna F Seiei was one thing, but finding out that he had actually fallen for the boy just like his brother had was a completely different problem. His affection had gotten so out of hand that he had to hide ever picture of said boy, since every time he laid eyes on them he began to blush furiously.

Amazing wasn't it? He had gone from hating the very existence of that person to completely loving them, falling for Setsuna F Seiei so hard that it was damn near embarrassing. Oh how the tables had turned…he no longer saw his brother as someone in need (which he wasn't any longer), instead viewing him as a foolish person who was not fit to be anyone's husband. He resented him, dear god did he resent him…but it was his own fault.

"He said he hated me…" Neil said as he walked back over to his brother, head down in supposid defeat.

"I could hear him, Nii-san…" He said, not the slightest bit surprised, "So does this mean you're going to leave him be?"

"Hell no!" His brother said, lifting his head showing that defeat was nowhere written on his face, "I'm going to make him fall in love with me! I'll shout how much I love him near his window every morning! I'm sure he'll understand!"

Yup…his brother was an idiot…

"You do that, Nii-san…you do that…"


	3. The Life Chapter

Saying that Tieria Erde hated his life would be a grave understatement…it was closer to the lines of 'rather be dead then dealing with it'. The day he was born he was called a mistake, something that had turned out completely wrong and he was reminded of this on a daily basis. His mother and father treated him as if he didn't exist most of the time, only paying him any mind when it was four o'clock in the afternoon. When that hour came it meant it was time for him to humiliate himself to the sheer amusement of his parents; just because he was a boy did not mean he would be treated as such, meaning he would have to both physically and mentally go through what a normal Erde woman would his age.

The kimono was just the start, and even though he was with his parents for only that full hour…it hurt. From his fingers to his toes, every inch of his body had gone through some kind of torture and his mind was also not immune to such things. He was told that there was no need for foolishness in his life, those things being friends, lovers, or anything remotely pleasurable. His life was already planned out for him, so there was no need for any kind of interference. He would be marry one of his cousins, become the head of the family and no questions would be asked.

But even though all of that was set in stone, Tieria still went against his parent's wishes not caring what they thought. He was rather afraid to admit it but his parents were close to breaking him for good; every time he entered that room, every time they physically abused him for the 'sake of the family' he could feel a little of himself being taken away. Everything was for the family…he could've lost his sanity but as long as his body was in tact they didn't care. It was the life he was born into to and it was probably the life he would die from…but there was hope…even if it was small…there was hope.

Allelujah…he was the only person that could bring him back from whatever kind of hell his parents put him through, and that was in no way an exaggeration. The very first time he'd even considered him something of a 'lifesaver' was a year ago. The second youngest really didn't have people he considered his friends, he knew people that hung around him but they were not his associates. But the two sets of twins seemed to always follow him around much more then other kids, so that annoyed him to no end. Twins? _Really_? And one of them just happened to be none other then **_Lockon Stratos_**. The boy had gotten that name because of his utterly ridiculous actions during the first half of the school year; the idiot like going around from class to class shouting _'I'll lock-on to your heart even from the stratosphere!' _(Like some kind of cheesy anime character), and since a few of the students couldn't remembered the entire thing they shortened it to 'lock-on stratosphere'. From there is morphed into the 'Lockon Stratos' which was what everyone had decided to call him, and he didn't seem to mind it in the slightest.

Tieria thought the entire thing was a waste of time, and having him and his brother following him around during the break period was not okay. If it wasn't enough for him to be trailed by the Dylandy boys, he had some how attracted the attention of the Haptism boys. Now those two had issues…the two of them were as far away from each other as possible. All the twins in town had some sort of way to disguising themselves from their other half, be it clothes or hair style. The Haptism boys took this a step further; their personalities were so distinct that everyone in town could tell which one was which without even having to look at them. Granted both of their eyes were two completely different colors, and each utilized a hair style that took full advantage of that, but it wasn't at all necessary.

The one considered the 'youngest' was Allelujah, and he was a complete pushover in Tieria opinion. The boy never seemed to get angry at anything, always accepting things even if they were not in his favor. How anyone could by that nice was beyond him at that time, but he was thankful for him because compared to his brother he was a saint. Hallelujah...oh Hallelujah…when not causing physical harm to his brother for whatever reason (he usually didn't have one), he was always off causing some sort of mischief around town. If anything was broken, painted, or just plain off in town is was usually due to the 'older' twin having his way with it. He was the kind of child that became bored easily, and that kind of boredom contributed to his actions.

While everyone played outside with their friends that day Tieria was inside, and even though he would've much rather preferred to be out there with them he couldn't run. Under the every watchful eye of his mother he commenced his teachings for the day. Every week was the same; each day was broken into different teachings, each one as painful as the next. Since that day was Friday he was forced to practice the koto…without finger picks. The stringers were sharp, and even if he was careful, even if he played it perfectly (which he couldn't do) he was going to be cut. This particular lesson took place on Friday because it took at lest two day for his fingers to heal, and since his parent knew he never left the house unless it was a school day no questions would be asked.

Nothing he did was ever right to his parents, which was why he paid no mind to the glares his mother always sent his way during that time of the day. There was no love in his home…no…birdcage seemed to fit much better. They would only let the little bird out when they saw fit, but they knew the bird would come back even after all the abuse…because the bird knew no other home. But if the bird somehow found a pair of wings they would be clipped, because if the bird escaped it couldn't come home…that was what they told him.

Tieria didn't need such things…since Fate had forsaken him there didn't seem to be any need to listen to such ramblings. So he played the instrument, ignoring the blood on the string and just focused on what he was doing. He could not feel that kind of pain anymore, he might've winced ever so slightly, but he didn't feel it. It was just to please her…since he was her 'mistake' why not give her a little entertainment? It didn't matter…she didn't love him and neither did he. He was just there to fulfill his role as the 'first child'…that was all.

Once everything was over and the woman was gone, he propped himself against the opening of the backdoor of his room. His room had a wonderful view of the garden, but as beautiful as it was it was still just as ugly as everything else. He knew it was probably not the best idea to let his fingers go unattended, but he was far too tired to do anything. Closing his eyes he tried his best to relax a little; his fingers were throbbing, and though he was told numerous times not to get his kimono dirty he still allowed them to rest against it…he would deal with the punishment when it came. It wasn't uncommon for him to be punished over the slightest thing, since that too was also a form of training. He was supposed to be disciplined, wasn't he? If he acted too much like a boy, wasn't it only right for him to be scolded? He was the first born…the one that would one day become the head of the family, a position he would share with his cousin.

As he was about to fall asleep he felt something nudge him. Thinking that it was just his imagination he ignored it, not really caring what it was. When he felt it again he guessed it was probably some kind of small animal, a bird perhaps, so he moved his hand and tried to swat it away. Once he heard a little 'um' next to him, he finally decided to open his eyes and see just what in the world was bothering him. Upon opening them he was face to face with one of the Haptism boys, and that was just not something one would expect to see after opening their eyes. Since he did not care which one it was at the time, he quickly pushed them away since his pride would not allow him to scream in surprise. Running also went against what he stood for, but he did back himself into a corner…which was worse. He was the kind of person that could be easily surprised by just about anything, and though he held his composer most of the time it broke fairly quickly.

After further inspection, he found out that he was safe by some means since the 'younger' brother was the one he'd violently shoved away. If it had been the other he would've probably faced some kind of physical abuse…but it wasn't like that kind of thing mattered. Just as he was about to ask for an explanation, the older boy told him that Lockon had sent him, and to this Tieria's face twisted in clear displeasure. Why did that lecher want to see him? Allelujah then told him that the other boy was just trying to be nice (due to apparently a lot of persuasion), and he had come to retrieve him. But Tieria noticed that the boy suddenly stopped and lower his attention down. He knew very well what the older boy was looking at...and he made no attempt to hid it. He expected the boy to laugh even if it went against his personality, mocking him for having hurt himself. But what he didn't expected was to be pulled forward and dragged away by him. Of course he protested loudly, but since no one in his little birdcage cared no one would come to his rescue. It didn't make matters any better that it had started to rain that afternoon, so not only did he become soaking wet but the bottom of his kimono had become incredibly dirty…now how would he explain that? The blood spoke for itself, but the mud…he was going to be punished extra hard for that.

The younger boy's protests finally stopped once he was taken inside a home he'd never seen before, and once shoes were kicked off he was dragged into the bathroom. In all honesty he thought his virginity was somehow in danger, even if the idea itself was ridiculous. After all, who gets dragged into someone's house and doesn't think that at lest once? Or maybe he was just paranoid…yeah, that seemed more reasonable. But it was quickly forgotten when he was told to hold out his hands. Why would the boy request such a thing? In the bathroom of all places...

He in no way complied with the boy's wishes, and could only watch as he walked over and opened one of the cabinets. With mild curiously he saw the older boy remove a small white box from the lower shelf, open it and pull out six bandages. Since playing the koto only required him to use only six out of the ten of his fingers (his thumb, index finger, and middle), he could understand the need for only that number…but why was he helping him? He was under no obligation to do anything of that nature, so why bother?

All of that was thrown out the window when he felt something wet hit his bleeding digits, making him give off a little noise as the stinging sensation buried itself deep inside his wounds. When the hell did he pull that out? He never actually put and kind of disinfectant on any on the cuts or buries he received, only covering them with whatever kind of adhesive strip he could get his hands on. So that was officially his first taste of alcohol against his skin…so he had in a way lost his 'virginity' (or rather his fingers had). Biting his bottom lip, he chocked back any other noise he wanted to make as Allelujah placed one bandage on each of his bleeding fingers. He didn't know why but he somehow allowed a little 'thank you' to slip out of his mouth, though it was probably just due to fact that something _nice_ had actually been done for him.

And that's what it was like for the next year. Allelujah would always come over around the same time, always pretend that he was there because Lockon sent him, and would always tend to any injuries the younger boy had. It had become a ritual, one his parents found to be distasteful to the point of sickness. But he could care less about what they thought at that point, and it wasn't like there were going to do anything to stop it.

Right now he sat in his usual spot near the backdoor of his room, the older boy's head in his lap once again. The only reason he allowed him to do such a thing was because he was tired, the hot summer days wearing them down to the point of exhaustion. But this did not mean they were dating! Okay, so he was the only person he really allowed to entered his room, or for that matter touch him without any repercussions…but that did not mean that they were a couple! It was more of a…mutual understanding, yeah, that was much closer to what the two of them had…at lest in Tieria opinion

The only person that seemed unaffected by the intense heat was Lockon, and his unusually upbeat personality was probably due to the arrival of his…wife was it? It didn't seem all that odd to him seeing that one day he would marry the man known as his cousin, so he understood how it felt to be in a binding situation. But…the oldest boy seemed to…enjoy his position, much to the annoyance of his wife (this was only an observation on Tieria's part). Considering that the oldest out of the four decided to wake up at the _crack of dawn_ to announce to the world just how much he loved him, it was clear how he felt. However, even if he had started such a habit only a week ago, his wife seriously needed to wise up for everyone's sake. It might've been cute to everyone during the first week, but as it continued onto the second people desperately wanted to not hear him scream 'My name is Neil Dylandy, and I am announcing my love for Setsuna F Seiei! Aishiteru! _Aishiteru!_' every morning.

But if that's what it took for him to get noticed then more power to the boy, because Tieria would've rather have been caught dead then do something like that. He would've rather keep his affection for a person a secret from all, not wanting anyone to know just how he felt…not that he _actually_ possessed those sorts of feelings for anyone or anything. Though if his parents ever found out that he was in love with someone…well…they'd run them out of town. Everything was for the family, and if they needed to uproot an entire family to keep their child…_pure_…they would. But he had nothing to worry about since that person did not exist.

"Um…Tieria?"Allelujah said, tugging on his kimono.

"Hm?" He said, moving slightly.

"If I leave town, can you come with me?" He asked, sitting up and stretching a little.

"W-Why would you ask that?" Tieria asked, pushing his glasses back up on his face due to the look he was giving the Haptism boy.

"Well…you did ask me that one time to take you away from here, I just kinda figured I'd asked."

Ah yes…he remembered that conversation. It rained that day too unexpectedly and his kimono was once again ruined. Instead of him just letting it be he requested for Allelujah provide him with a change of clothes, but that also meant he would have to stay the night to allow it to dry. To come home wearing someone else's clothes would've sent everyone into a tizzy, and even though that would've been a very amusing thing to watch he would've put both of them in danger of something horrible. Hallelujah found the whole thing amusing, commenting that it would've been 'the first time they'd had a girl in the house'. He didn't pay him any mind, allowing it to slip just once (the next time he called him a girl he would be chased).

He had to stay in the same room and futon as Allelujah, because he honestly did not want to be left alone anywhere in that house with his brother around. It wasn't that the boy scared him or anything, he just didn't want to wake up the next morning with something written on his face since he was know to do such things when guest were over (Lyle wore a mustache and monocle for about three days before the marker came off). Tieria didn't mind sleeping next to another person, though he did have a hard time falling asleep for the first couple of hours. It wasn't that he felt uncomfortable; he just…couldn't sleep for some reason, and it wasn't really like him to act that way.

Shaking the older boy awake, he asked if he could at lest talk to him for a little while and he groggily agreed, though the younger out of the two did most of the talking. The conversation, if one could call it that, ranged from simple to the slightly more complex. Tieria knew the other boy wasn't full awake, so asking him questions seemed rather out there. But he still did…he asked if Allelujah could take him away from the village…far, far away from his family and the traditions they imposed on him. There was a silence for a few minutes, and he seriously thought the other had fallen back asleep. But that was not the case when he heard him reply 'ok' before completely nodding off.

"You really did mean that stuff, right? You sounded kinda serious when you said it," Allelujah asked, not entirely out of curiously, "But, you know, I'd really do that if you wanted me too. You could come to medical school with me! I-I mean, if that's what you want."

Tieria smiled a little at this, even if Allelujah's words were just that…words. The older boy wanted to become a doctor, and even though just about everyone around his age said that, he _meant it_. But even if he did one day leave the village in the distant future to become such a thing, Tieria knew that he could not follow him. This was the only home he knew, and since he was such a good 'bird' he would ways come back. It was like an invisible leash was tied around his neck, only allow him to go so far when he just wanted to break away. So he could only watch as everyone he knew left while he just sat and lost himself, unable to do a thing about…but maybe one day he would run…just for the hell of it. Scooting over a little closer to him, he placed his head against the older boy's shoulder. It was so strange…the only real time he could really relax was if he was around Allelujah, which was why he usually snuck out a few times during the week just to sleep next to him (the first time showed him that it was actually alright to do so).

His mind would race at night, with thoughts of his impending future always making themselves known at worst possible time. When times like that came he usually slipped on his shoes and just left; it wasn't like his parents didn't know what was going on, but he just chose to ignore them. They could've stopped him, telling him that 'it wasn't good for his health to be up so late' or something along those lines…but they didn't. They were not the kind of people to bestow such kindness upon him…oh no…not to their little mistake. Once he's actually arrived at the older boy's house he'd always knocked, but he knew it really wasn't necessary since Allelujah always knew like clockwork when he was coming.

Tieria would always start the night off facing the opposite direction of the older boy…for some very obvious reasons. But somehow he always woke up buried in his chest, feeling so relived and well rested. As nice as that seemed, he always went home before it was time for school or before the other woke up. Awkward was probably the best word to describe the feeling he'd get if anyone (_especially_ Hallelujah) caught them in bed together, or for that matter fleeing the boy's house. It wasn't because he actually liked him in_ that _sort of way, but because of how other perceived him it would raise far too many questions.

Getting a little closer to Allelujah, he began to fall asleep. He wouldn't really say it out loud but the older boy was his closest friend, and coming from him that was saying a lot (though there were others he considered friends, but he had not yet accepted that fact just yet). He just wanted him to be around, so he could have someone to talk to…even if that foreseeable part of life was going to kick in sooner or later. Everyone moved…at some point or another people just decided to leave the village, seeking life elsewhere…there were no exceptions.

"Heh, this is so sweet it almost hurts!" Came a voice from in front of them. Oh course…when basically out in the open like this why not be caught by _that_ person? Quickly pushing himself away from Allelujah, he couldn't help but scowl a little at the person who stood smugly in front of him.

_"_Hallelujah? What are you doing here?" His brother asked, knowing full well that around this time his twin usually wanted nothing to do with him.

"Well…" He started, making his way over to them, "I'm here to steal you're girlfriend."

"W-What?"

Before either TieriaorAllelujah knew what happened, the second youngest was sling over the other Haptism's shoulder and was swiftly taken away. It took Tieria a good full minute to realize he was moving at a rather quick pace, and once that realization was made he began to struggle. The hell was he doing? If this was a joke it was a rather poor one! But after all it was Hallelujah…the twin known for his spur of the moment actions that caused so much discord. The kid had more then a few screws lose…but at lest he enjoyed himself.

"N-Nii-san, stop!" The 'youngest' Haptism shouted from behind him, desperately trying to catch up.

"Put me down, you bastard!" Tieria shouted, now pounding on the boy's back.

"Not until yourvirginity is mine!" Hallelujah said, laughing as he heard a loud gasp from his cargo. Was he serious? He'd lost it…Hallelujah Haptism had officially lost whatever little sanity he had, and now the first born of the Erde family was about to pay the price for it…why dammit? Having said that, Tieria noticed that the boy was acting a little more erratic then usual over the last week, or at lest according his brother; running around all hours of the night, acting much more violent then usual, going off into the forest by himself, all were noticeably 'odd' behaviors when it came to the 'elder' Haptism. It almost made him wondered…just what was he doing?

As the three completely left the garden, it was clear that Tieria was going to be in some kind of trouble for have this person touch him. He parents always watched whenever he set foot outside of the house, making sure the bird didn't become influenced by anything. If the bird was indeed influence to the point of becoming a nuisance, then the bird needed to be taught its place…by any means necessary. But _this _took the cake…he was being carried away by a crazed boy while being chased by another screeching 'I-I'll save you!' Yep…he was in for it. Even if Hallelujah had put him down right there, even if Allelujah had stopped chasing them…it wouldn't have mattered.

Dammit, why him?

* * *

Sleep…all he wanted to do was sleep, but that godddamn idiot outside _wouldn't stop shouting_. He'd done it around the same time last week and he was doing it again this week, and Setsuna wanted nothing more then to shut him up. After his blow up last week he really thought the older boy would've gotten the hint (though he in no way **_hinted_** at how he felt), but yet there he was…standing outside his window at the _crack of dawn _yelling how much he 'loved' him. If it wasn't for his exhaustion he would've gladly got up from his bed and told Neil off, probably shouting at him again. But that didn't seem to work on him the last time…so there was no guarantee that it would be any more affective a second time. The last thing he wanted was to shout at the Dylandy boy and have him think it was out of love…that would've driven him insane. Neil already seemed like the type to not listen to a thing he said, and if he heard any more proclamations of love he was going to shove them back down the boy's throat.

After his first little episode Setsuna had confined himself in his room, refusing to come out. Hearing himself yelling shook him to the core because he'd never done such a thing, and knowing he was capable of things like that scared him. He began to question himself, which by no means was a good thing. What if the person he currently was, the person he put out to everyone…what if it was all a lie? If that was the case he had no idea who he really was, and that hit him deep. What if he wasn't Setsuna F Seiei, the ten year old who kept to himself and didn't care what people did to him? What if he was Setsuna F Seiei, the ten year old who was just as fake as the next person, hated everyone, and did nothing but shout. Or worse yet…what if he truly didn't know who he was?

Setsuna hated crying…period. It was a useless expression of emotion he had gotten rid of when he was five…or at lest he thought he had. He did not cry for one day, two days, or three days…oh no…he cried for five. He would occasionally stop because of how fatigued he'd become, and the sudden increase of this made him fall further into the hole he was already in. He was always tired…always feeling like he was one step away from falling over and just passing out. But he never did, and maybe that was the reason he stayed in bed so often; other then having zero motivation his body constantly felt worn down, like he was running in empty without ever doing much. It wasn't normal for someone his age to feel like that, but like most thing he accepted it and moved on.

But he could pinpoint the cause of his loss of control, and he actually cared enough to want to deal with it. _Him_. Neil Dylandy…the person who was force to be his husband, the person who had somehow managed to do so much damage in such a short time period. After running home and barricading himself in his room, all he did was cry, sleep and eat the occasional food his mother would bring by. The only form of entertainment was watching Allelujah chase after his twin, who looked as if he had stolen Tieria away for some reason. That was only yesterday, so entertainment didn't exist prior to that. He knew his parents were worried about him, but they also knew that he did not like to be babied in _that_ way. He had told them this himself, and although they took it as a joke, he was dead serious. But all he really did was curl up on his bed and bawl, conceiving thoughts he never would've in any other situation.

What a pitiful existence he was living…

Sitting in his room wasn't getting anything done, but it wasn't like he had anything that needed to be done in the first place. He never aspired to do much with his life, nothing but the bare minimums. He didn't know what life really was outside of his usual routine, having only viewed it from the little window in his room. He never cared about anything other then his parents…He felt like he was trapped inside his own body for some reason, unable and unwilling to do anything to change that fact. Emotionless, apathetic, too accepting of thing…was this his true personality? Better yet what did those words mean? 'True self', 'true personality' what did they really mean? Was it the person he was deep down or the person he wanted to be? He was so confused…Why did a ten year old need to think about such things? Because it was necessary to know…

Swinging his legs over the side of his bed, Setsuna made his way downstairs for the first time in a week. He needed answers, and it was apparent that he would not find any in the people he knew. He needed to talk to that person…the one whose utter nonsensical behavior had driven him to the edge and over. Neil Dylandy…the name itself made him want to turn around and go back upstairs, never coming down again. But this needed to be done no matter what; even if he was touched, even if he completely lost it…he needed to do this. He stopped momentarily at the step that lead to the door, staring at it while he filled himself with doubt. The person outside was truly his only hope, but what if that wasn't enough? What if there was some unseen force was just going to push him down even further, laughing in his face for even deciding to turn to Neil Dylandy for help. But he needed to know…he needed to find out just who he was by finding out _who that person was_.

Shoes were not needed for this kind of situation, so he completely bypassed them and opened the door. Upon stepping out he heard the shouting completely stop, meaning he needed to brace himself for whatever was going to come. Taking a few steps he felt that the ground was much cooler then the air around him, and he was thankful for his decision to go shoeless. He didn't like the heat all that much, seeing it as not helping his situation in the slightest and therefore needed to be gotten rid of. But there was something else he wished to get rid of…

"Setsuna-chan!" Came Neil's voice. He felt him…he felt that all too familiar tight embrace around him, the one sending him so many false signals to the point where it nearly drove him mad. But for now he needed to keep himself together long enough to ask…

"…Who are you…?" He said in a deadpan voice, neither looking up at the boy nor acknowledging that boy was holding him tighter.

"What? I'm you're husband who loves you very much! Did you hit your head while in there or something?" Neil said, slightly confused with what the younger was talking about.

"No…who are you on the inside…?" Setsuna tried again, feeling the older boy back off.

"Even on the inside I'm still your husband, Setsuna-chan." He said, rubbing his chest a little. This was going nowhere fast…he wanted real answers, not the ones Neil Dylandy was giving him. He wanted to know what he was, the person on the inside but for some reason it just wasn't getting through to him. Clinching his fist a little, he tried one last time…

"Neil Dylandy…what kind of person are you on the inside…?" The youngest asked, clinching his fists tight. To this the old boy crossed his arms and thought for a moment.

"What kind of person am I…?" He said to himself, running a hand through his brown hair, "I'll say…I'm the kind of person who loves Setsuna-chan-"

"STOP IT! STOP OBSESSING OVER ME LIKE SOME DAMN FANBOY!" Setsuna yelled, "Setsuna-chan this, Setsuna-chan that! Do you ever shut up about me? What about you? What does Neil Dylandy like besides me? What was he like before he knew what the hell a 'Setsuna-chan' was!"

He was panting once again, having once again done the one thing he hated for yet a second time. The silence that filled the air this time was heavy; it held a thickness that the other day could not compare with, and that made the younger boy's full attention fall on his…husband. He gave him a look that sent a chill down his spine, a look that made him avert his eyes to the ground in what was probably shame. Melancholy…he couldn't look at him any longer. He felt like he was trying to pierce his soul, trying to look into a place he did not belong. All he had come outside for were answers, not to be looked at with eyes filled with a sad thoughtfulness that made his stomach twist. This wasn't what he wanted…

"I don't like that person…" Neil said, reaching over and pulling Setsuna back into a hug, "Setsuna-chan saved me from him…so I'm thankful."

That hurt…now he was being seen as some sort of holy figure in the boy's eyes, but he knew that he was not fit to be called or seen as such a thing. He could feel the hot tears start to roll down his cheek, dampening the boy shirt. This wasn't what he wanted, and though it was always a possibility he never wanted this kind of situation to occur. Setsuna couldn't take this…so as a last ditch effort he began to pound his fists against Neil's chest. It wasn't hard enough to actually hurt him, but it was hard enough to make him feel it without a doubt. He told him that he 'shouldn't worship someone like him' and that he 'didn't even know who he was, so there was no point'. Setsuna was ten…that was the only certain thing he knew about himself; he hated this person because he didn't understand them, because he looked at him like an idol which he clearly wasn't.

He had come to that village with only one true goal in mind…to just live. He would ignore everyone like he usually did, only going along with the flow of things because it was the only thing he knew. He would be teased and picked on, but he would never utter a single word of it to anyone because he was so use to it. He would come home and work, doing everything that was assigned to him by the teacher. He would lie in bed for the rest of the day because he didn't feel like even moving. If it was summer he would stay home, completing any homework given and just sleeping it all away. This was his _life_…this had been the only life he'd known for ten years, and somehow all of this had been broken to the point where it could not be mended. The pieces themselves were still very much there, but there was nothing he could do. Without that what would he have? Without that _life_ what was there? Nothing…there would be nothing. In a matter of weeks his entire life had become nothing but a distant memory; if he tried to mend it he would fail, only further bringing himself down into the nothingness that was left.

Emotions were useless things, and he hated showing them to anyone other then his parents. Those things were not needed in his life, only interfering with how everything worked…but that life was gone now. So here he was, now on his knees crying into the chest of the person who was the cause of it all. He still told Neil that 'he was not worth his praise' and that he just wanted to 'get over this stupid feeling'. He didn't know what it was that was pulling him down into such a dark place...or maybe...it had always been pulling. Maybe this feeling had always been there, but it had blinded him to the point where he just didn't care anymore. Whatever the truth was he knew that it needed to be gotten rid of…

"Now it's my turn to save you, Setsuna-chan…it's my duty as a husband to his wife!"


	4. The 'I'm Sorry' Chapter

"W-Why is it only an hour long?"

"Dunno…"

All six of them sat and stared in disbelief. Not only had their favorite show just ended an hour early, but the missing hour had been replaced with some kind of cutesy anime that no one seemed interested in (well Tieria held some mild interest, but quickly denied it). Now it was indeed a rare thing to have all of them over, but the experience would've been ten times better if an entire hour of their show had not been completely cut off.

Setsuna was especially hurt by this, having missed an entire weeks worth of episodes because he was, in his opinion, acting 'childish'. Yes, he was himself a child, but did not mean he liked behaving in that sort of way. The youngest never really thought of himself as a child, and that kind of mentality also affected how he reacted around other people. More then anything if the word 'child' ever left someone's lips he felt like scowling; on the outside he wanted to grow up as soon as possible, leaving the image people seemed to brand him with completely behind him. But…deep down he knew he'd just be missing out on his childhood. He'd heard the word a few times, having something to do with the 'younger years' of ones life. People said those times were important, necessary for growth and development in ones character. However, the problem was that he didn't know just how one went about living out a childhood.

But that was probably one of the many thingsNeil Dylandy was going to show him. The events of last week's 'incident' had made the younger boy force his…husband to swear to never tell, and of course the older boy 'swore on his duty as a husband' not to speak to a single soul about what had gone on. But seeing that they were outside, at lest a few people must've overhead them. Didn't that make the whole swearing thing pretty pointless? Setsuna didn't care_…_

A new life needed to be made, and even if he wanted to hold onto those pieces of the old one, he couldn't. He'd let them linger for a little while, but over time they would completely disappear. So in order for him to function properly he needed to start anew, no matter how much work he needed to put into it and no matter how much he disliked it. Change was not his friend…but somehow or another they needed to find a common ground. They needed to cooperate for the time being, even if one of them accidently slipped up. But Neil would be there…or rather Setsuna made himself believe that he was forcing to boy into help him. If that's what it took for him to start moving forward, that what he would do…and Neil seemed like the kind of person to go along with whatever the younger boy said.

Surprisingly change had decided to strike first; after going back inside after 'the incident' his mother informed him that he'd be staying over at the Dylandy's until she returned from work (she was awake so early because of…well…the noise). That was right…the only reason she was home to begin with was because she was job searching. He briefly wondered during that time what exactly he'd be doing; even though he was capable of taking care of himself, his mother in no way would've allow him to stay home alone. So he had received his answer…from the hours of seven in the morning to five in the afternoon he would be staying with his…husband and his family. The idea at first made him cringe; spending that much time with that boy was probably going to drive him insane, but the fact that he needed a life still loomed over him.

So he allowed himself to be dragged over to the Dylandy's house for an entire week (take a guess at who was doing the dragging). The first day was horrible; the boy had become ten times more attached to him then he usually was, and having him follow him just about everywhere irritated him to no end. To make matters worse (or perhaps better) it had started raining lightly, meaning not only would he be in the house he would be in the house _**ALL DAY WITH HIM**_. Lovely…He spent most of his time in Neil's room, in his arm, and about five seconds away from just leaving the house. But he couldn't leave…not only was he still doing the whole 'married' thing for his mother, but now he needed to start a new life in a village to keep himself together.

It was hard for him to even think about doing both of those things, but they needed to be done. So he stayed in the room, ignoring most of whatever the boy was saying and that fact that Lyle was sitting in the entrance of the room. The other boy had placed himself in-between the doorway, basically blocking the way for any kind of entry or escape. He did not make any sort of eye contact with either of them, only allowing his attention to be focused on the ground. Setsuna knew very well why he was there…he wanted to make sure his brother didn't…well…_do_ anything. It was rather obvious that the other Dylandy had supposed 'feelings' for him, but he did a much better job at controlling himself. In general he seemed a little more introverted compared to his brother, but that might've just been a defense-mechanism since the person he 'loved' was around. That word meant nothing to him when those two were involved…but he wondered…would he actually have to accept that word one day as part of his life?

Like the word childhood, he had heard the word before but wasn't sure just how one feels or goes about obtaining it. He knew love for ones parent and love for another were two different things, but just what those differences were he didn't know. But if he did accept such a word, what would that mean? Would that mean he'd be happy? He didn't know, but curiously did get the better of him so he decided to bring the question back up in the future.

The next day was pretty much the same thing, minus the rain thankfully. But they still did not dare set foot outside; whenever rain fell on a hot day, it would only make things worse by making it steamy…and steamy hot was not a very nice feeling. So it was another day inside, but this time he did not spend all of his time in the older boy's room. Instead he spent most of the day down in the kitchen; their mother needed assistance while preparing dinner for that night, and since she needed to step out of the house to go shopping she needed someone to help with the prep. Setsuna did not have any problems with this, having helped his mother around the kitchen many of times. He knew a little more then just the basics, and found that anything was better then staying in Neil's room.

But when it came to both Dylandy boys…they knew nothing when it came to the workings of a kitchen. It seemed the only form of cooking either had ever had was licking the bowl after their mother was done with it, and to the youngest that was just another thing he had to deal with. He ignored them at first; he only listening as pots and pants fell to the ground loudly, making him wince as the deafening noise rang throughout his ears. The only time he paid them any mind was when he had decided to chop the vegetable that were left out, to which Neil practically leaped across the room and snatched the knife away from him. The older boy told him that someone his age (and his wife) shouldn't fool around with something that sharp, so he would take over for him. Setsuna knew it was probably only to impress him, but he was in no way impressed as he watched the boy cut himself more then a few times. After the fourth time, he quickly took the utensil away from him, telling him to go take care of his fingers. When he heard that saying such a thing meant he 'cared' about the boy's well being, and he simply replied that he didn't want him contaminating the food.

He really didn't care…he allowed Neil to think whatever he wanted, but he did not care about him. After the older boy had disappeared into the bathroom, he noticed Lyle get a little closer to him. Setsuna, like he did to his brother, paid him no mind and continued working on the greenery. However, he slowed, never stopped, as he felt the twin kiss him on the cheek lightly. He didn't look over at him, not wanting to end up like the other Dylandy in the bathroom. He heard the other boy say that he 'missed him after being gone for so long', and of course that followed with another quick kiss. With that he had to stop, placing the knife down against the cutting board and looking over at Lyle. They were the same height thanks to the small stepping stool he was standing on, so if he wanted he could've looked the older boy in the eye…but decided against it. The boy was blushing heavily, obviously holding some kind of embarrassment for his actions. If he was going to have such an expression on his face, why even bother kissing him?

He asked how someone can fall for another, especially since neither of them knew a thing about him. Said topic had become a common theme, and no matter how many ways he twisted the question he could not for the life of him get a straight answer out of anymore. Of course that time was no different, having the boy only blush deeper and run away. If _life_ was going to be like this, or for that matter his…relationship with the other Dylandy, then it was rather clear that his days were going to be fairly long and strenuous. After he was done with the vegetables, Neil had finally emerged from the bathroom. When Setsuna told him his assistance was no longer needed the older boy laughed, taking it as a joke. He was then told that the lest thing his…husband could do was boil the water…to which he replied that he was incapable of doing so. And he was right.

Setsuna learned rather quickly that the Dylandy twin was just trying to astound him with skills he did not posses, so before the older boy could embarrass himself any further he stopped him. Knowing that he was probably going to be hugged for what he said was a given, but he still muttered that if Neil stirred he would pour whatever he needed to in the pot. Bracing himself, he sighed as the older boy pulled him into a tight hug which he was now sure was becoming an unnecessary habit. It really was rather redundant to be hugged _all the time_, and even if it was just his way of showing some kind of affection, he wanted some say in it. After all it was his body Neil was touching, so didn't that mean he could request for the boy to not touch him? Oh, he was free to request all he wanted…but he knew his…husband wasn't going to listen.

In all honesty, it seemed as if the older boy treated him more like oxygen rather then a person, something he needed to have in order to survive. That particular quality of Neil still greatly irritated him; Setsuna was by no means an idol, a peacekeeper, or someone in need of any kind of praise. He was just ten…he'd done nothing with those ten years, only living what he thought was a 'content life'. He wasn't content…he was far from it. That…_thing_ inside of him made him believe he was content, filling his head with lies that he came to accept without question. Whatever it was it needed to die, not only because the youngest wanted change but because he wanted to…_feel_ something other then what he was use to. To him 'normal' did not exist, so if he considered the life before he entered the village as 'abnormal' he wanted to know what a 'normal' life was like. Even if his circumstance was more then a little out of the ordinary (being married and what not), he thought there could've been some way for him to salvage some sort of ordinary living out of it.

Once the Dylandy's mother had returned home, she was rather surprised at all the work they had done (or more accurately he'd done). She praised both of them, but Neil said that all of it belonged to his 'wife'. Setsuna just sighed again, his attention fully on the woman as she asked if he'd like to stay over for dinner (since he'd already done so much). He didn't need to think too much about it, and the priced he paid for denying such an offer was his…husband whining rather loudly. He said that they 'should at lest have dinner together alone' once in a while, and of course the youngest just ignored him. Dinner? Alone? With _him_? Not a chance…He knew that the woman was just trying to be nice, but he didn't really consider himself ready for such a thing.

The remainder of the week was pretty much the same, helping the Dylandy's mother with any and all chores around the house. The only real difference was the arrival of Allelujah, his twin, and Tieria (who looked like she was forcibly dragged there). He saw them coming over as a good opportunity to find out just want kind of people they were, having only really engaging in any kind of conversation with them during that one day. The first and probably the most important thing he learned was that Allelujah's brother's name was, surprisingly, Hallelujah. He knew when it came to naming twins close sounding ones were sometimes an option, though he'd never actually meet anyone who'd actually followed that law…until that moment of course. Of course the two had to be different in some ways (seeing that Neil and Lyle were his only examples)…he just didn't know how different they were until they started cleaning the house.

Since the six of them were only given the task of cleaning the Dylandy boy's room, which didn't seem all that difficult. Other then the fact that Tieria had absolutely no idea how to use any of the cleaning products, much to the amusement of the 'elder'Haptism, everything seemed pretty routine…at lest to Setsuna. The first room to be cleaned was Lyle's, and for some reason he paid very close attention to everyone as they moved around. His room was rather well kept like his brother's, and the only thing it really needed was a good dusting. Hallelujah apparently thought that 'to dust' meant 'practically knock over everything in your path', and the only thing keeping all of the boy's belongs from crashing to the floor was the quick reflexes of the other Haptism twin. But that wasn't the worst…that moment came when Hallelujah found something that perked his interest.

While pulling Lyle's futon forward, the youngest noticed the 'oldest' Haptism's eye light up with mischief. He saw the boy quickly snatch something up from the floor and begin to exam it. Once he heard a loud gasp come from the direction the other Dylandy was in, he knew that something about to start. Much like his brother did the other day, he saw Lyle pretty much leap across the room and try to snatch whatever the second oldest was hold. But he noticed before his fingers could even reach it, only further making Hallelujah amused with the whole situation. When Lyle tried to go for it again, the Haptism simply pushed him away and asked him 'if he was a pervert'. Of course this grabbed the attention of just about everyone in the room, especially Setsuna's. He really didn't care what the two were doing or just what the object was, but the word 'pervert' had just been used. He really didn't see the other Dylandy as such a thing (his brother was a slightly different matter…), so he couldn't help but look over at them.

But he instead found himself interested in what the two were fighting over…a picture. Or better put it was a picture of _him_, probably taken about a year ago. Why the hell would he have something like that? Neil immediately got involved, wanting to know just why his brother still owned any pictures of his 'wife'. Still? What did he mean _still_? Lyle just blushed deeply and told him that they'd talk later, but in exchange he'd need the picture back. Setsuna just sat and watched as Lyle frantically tried to get his picture back, wanting nothing to do with the entire thing. It was a little…disturbing to know that the other Dylandy actually kept pictures of him around his room…and it was even worse when he thought that Neil too probably owned the same image of him. That sent a little shiver down his spin…

In the long run Hallelujah did give the picture back to Lyle, only after being kicking in the shin and wrestled him for it. Allelujah practically freaked out the entire time, trying his best break them apart before anyone was hurt. He got himself hit a few times, makingTieria bark at the two fighting boys to 'cut it out'. The second youngest was not having it at all so he jumped in, desperately trying to pull him out of the fray. Neil decided to jump in just to try to get the picture before the other two did, still looking no so pleased that his brother owned something like that. All five of them tussled, all five of them cursed loudly, and all Setsina did was watch. He might've wanted to change, but he didn't want to jump into any fight where he did not belong in…even if the picture was of him.

Once they finally calmed down, Neil placed his head in the Setsuna's lap, saying he that he 'wanted to take a nap with him' since he was so tired. Looking at him for a few second, all he did was get up and continue cleaning the room, practically ignoring everything his…husband was saying. But of course…he couldn't even continue what he was doing in peace without Neil practically clinging to him like some kind of lovesick puppy. At lest Setsuna had found out that the 'youngest' Haptism twin was the peacekeeper, while the 'older' one was the troublemaker. It made since in his opinion, but if looked at close enough one could see that they were exact opposites of the Dylandy boys. Neil was extremely outgoing while Lyle was introverted (unless provoked), on the other hand Allelujah rather pleasant to be around while Hallelujah was…well…Hallelujah (he knew that wasn't a very good description).

And that's how the week was whenever the three of them came over…just plain hectic. But today was different; it was Saturday which was a day of relaxation, and seeing that everyone had worked so hard (some more then others) a break day was well deserved. That would've been more then just fine…if their show wasn't replaced with some sort of cutesy mess of an anime. The youngest was basically sitting in the same position he was the first time he'd view the show, back firmly pressed against Neil's chest with the boy's chin gently place against the top of his head, arms wrapped tightly around him. He'd gotten use to said position by now; the urge to push him away had gone down quite a bit, the only thing he really did was squirm every now and then. He didn't really like the whole idea of being touched, but since his attention completely focused on the screen he found he forgot about it eighty percent of the time. The other twenty percent was whenever the commercial would hit, and he'd be snapped back to reality for a few minutes…but that was it.

To the right of them was the other Dylandy, who was indeed just as horrified as the rest of them. But…there was something off about him today…He knew the boy just seemed generally irritated when ever his brother was around, but today he it was more like…he was plotting something. The only thing he hoped was that the other Dylandy did not attempt anything bold, in fear of the reaction that might emerge. To the left of them was the 'oldest' Haptism who looked he about five seconds from cursing out the screen, which would've been greatly welcomed. Next to him was his brother, who was consulting with_ Tieria (who was on the very end) about just why the show had cut off._

Upon thinking about it, the two seemed to spend a lot of time together whether they admitted it or not. Hallelujah said that his brother always went over to Tieria's place at the same time, and it was rather easy to tell which day he would be going. If the second youngest declined to come over to Neil's place, it only meant that in a few hours his brother would make his ways over there for some reason. Of course Tieria denied that the boy came over for a special purpose, but it wasn't like the youngest was in any position to question a thing they did.

"Lockon, make it come back…" Setsuna said, tugging on the boy's sleeve.

"If I could I really would…a-and don't call me that in house, Setsuna-chan." He said, holding him a little tighter. After hearing the absolutely ridiculous story about how his…husband obtained such a name by Lyle yesterday, he found it rather appropriate to also call him said name. How funny it was…it was nice to know that his idiocy was not due to the younger coming to the village, though it was rather uncreative of him to do something so similar to that incident. After all, the boy _had_ shouted at the top of his lungs that he 'loved him' during the wee hours of the morning…wasn't that close?

It almost horrified him to think that there could very well be another incident like that in the near future, and he really did like to at lest get that last little hour in before waking up (which was taken away from him for a week). What if it was worse? What if it turned into some odd Shakespeare-esque situation? What if his…husband had found himself some kind of ladder and began to lean against his _conveniently_ open window, speaking sweet-nothings to him as the he- why the hell was he even thinking about that?

But he didn't liked to be called such a name in his house, saying that 'he was Neil inside the house, but Lockon outside'…even more reason to do it, right? So after Lyle had told him his brother's shameful story, he began to call Neil 'Lockon' whenever he got the chance. But no matter how much he changed up the sound, no matter how much he called him by his full title…there was a _small_ problem…

"Lockon…"

"S-So cute…okay! From now on only Setsuna-chan can call me Lockon in the house!"

The idiot found everything he did…_cute_. Really now, the boy already praised him so he didn't need to find him adorable as well. He meant to ask just how he had saved the older boy, having no clue just how he could affect someone without physically being there. To save someone said person needed to be in some kind of distress, and that perked Setsuna's interest ever so slightly. Just what kind of misery had he been through to make him fall into that deep of a hole? Better yet, why had Setsuna and _only_ Setsuna been able to save? He was just a kid everyone picked on, there was no way he had the power to impact someone like that. Misery was not something that was gotten rid of easily (he had a hard time just recognizing his most of his life), so just what had he actually done to make his…husband feel better?

The younger boy always seemed to be thinking more then he should, so he just decided he would ask later. Saying something like that meant there was a long talk in his future, and he wasn't quite sure if he would be ready for said talk. He didn't even to know what to make of the person know as Lockon Stratos (Neil Dylandy), but what if he actually did see the boy's true personality? Better yet…what if didn't know it when he saw it, mistaking it as nothing more then him acting like a complete fool? He was doing it again…thinking far too much…Sighing a little, he told the older boy that since the show was no longer on (and this was completely out of his character) that he wanted to do something. When asked just what he wanted to do…he couldn't answer. He muttered something incoherently, obviously frustrated with himself for not going outside more.

"Well, why don't we just go into town?" Tieria finally said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, let's listen to Allelujah's girlfriend and go-"

"Shut up, Lecher!" The second youngest shouted, completely cutting Hallelujah off. It was rather obvious that he was still quite pissed off about the other day, and the youngest really couldn't blame him.

Thursday was not a very good for the second youngest, and it was once again one of those times where Setsuna could only sit and watch as the madness unraveled around fairly quickly. After coming over fairly late with Allelujah, it was written all over his face that he did not want to be bothered with…which the youngest did not have a problem with. Since that days cleaning duty was in the living room he allowed Tieria to take a nap on the couch (Lockon didn't seem to mind), which at the time was probably the start of the problem. Setsuna had learned that it did not take much for the'eldest' Haptism to lose his interest at the task at hand, so when he saw the older boy throw the rag he had to the ground…he really should've paid more attention to him.

After disappearing from his view, he didn't actually see what happened, but when he heard Tieria give off a loud yelp followed by a loud 'thud' he knew that the boy was on the ground. Looking over the back of the couch he could see that the second youngest had been pinned down,Hallelujah's mouth against his neck. Now the sight did confuse him, knowing that kissing someone required lip to lip contact…but mouth to neck? That seemed more like a bite…They didn't stay in that position for long, since the 'younger' Haptism preformed a 'Dylandy Special' (which is what he dub it) as he practically leaped across the room and pried his brother off of the poor boy. Still slightly fascinated with the 'older' Haptism's action, he watched as Tieria tried to attack the older boy though he had no room to since Allelujah was holding him back.

"Hay, I thought Lockon was the lecher!" Hallelujah countered, yelling equally as loud.

"U-Um, guys? I'm sitting right in-between you two, so…" Allelujah said, trying his best to get some kind of word in. But alas he couldn't and was completely ignored…so he was stuck in-between two very loud boys who seemed to be out for blood. Setsuna just watch just like he always did. He did, however, cover his ears a little because he _still_ hated that sound. Call him a hypocrite, but he just could stand the sound of people arguing or yelling. After a while he buried his face in his…husband's chest and waited for them to stop, having become so completely fed up their actions. Of course he knew Lockon would notice this action (like he did everything else the boy did), so he wasn't surprised in the slightest when he was held tighter and asked what was the matter.

"Setsuna…"

Everyone grew quit and directed their attention towards Lyle. That had actually been the first word he'd said all day, and everyone was rather interested in what he had to say. Granted the older boy didn't really talk all that much whenever he was around, but today he seemed different. He was quite, avoiding all eye contact with everyone and would only glace over at him ever so often. Maybe he was sick or something…cleaning might've caused his allergies or something to act up. If so he'd take full responsibility for such things, since he did drag both Dylandy boy's into the whole 'cleaning' thing. But all of that was thrown out the window when he was pulled out of his…husband's grasp, being held rather firmly in the arms of the of another person. Setsuna really couldn't really say a thing, seeing that his lips were forced against Lyle's left no room for protest. But of course…a certain someone was _not_ pleased.

"What the hell are you doing, Lyle!" Lockon screeched, mind racing with so many things he to wanted to say, but knew he couldn't very well say them in front of his 'wife'.

"Oh my god, this is rich!" Hallelujah laughed, currently lying against the ground trying to control himself.

"I take it back…all three of you are lechers…" The second youngest said, averting his eyes from the scandalous scene. Allelujah just covered his mouth, too shocked to really say anything. Setsuna just sat there, completely frozen with too many emotions at once. This was not the first time the boy had kissed him, but…it was the first time he'd done so on the _lips_. It felt…different from whenever Lockon would kiss him. There was some kind of emotion behind it (what it was he didn't know) but…there was a stronger one behind his…husbands then his. Once the other boy had removed his lips away from his, he just stared at him (not into those green eyes though). That was a bold move…and what made it even bolder what the fact that he had done it front of his brother. Was this…what he was plotting? If so he was probably going to be in for it…

"I just needed to get that off of my chest," Lyle said, patting the youngest on the head and blushing heavily, "Now let's go into town."

"Are you insane? That's my wife! I have the right mind to-"

"Okay…" Setsuna said, ignoring whatever Lockon had wanted to say.

"S-Setsuna-chan, you can't let people kiss you whenever they want." His…husband said, pulling him back and holding him tightly. The youngest just sat there and thought for a few minutes; the boy had said that he couldn't let people kiss him…so did that mean it was only alright to kiss his…husband? Was it just a show of affections? But since it really didn't feel anything for either, didn't that make it alright for Lyle to kiss him? Even if he did not feel a thing as he was kissed, he knew that both of them put some sort of emotion into it, and if that did that wasn't it okay? It wasn't like some random person was walking up to him and letting him have one…he _knew_ these two, but at the same time _didn't_ know them…so that didn't make them strangers, right? He…really didn't know anymore…

"…I don't understand." Setsuna said, looking up at Lockon.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Lockon asked, slightly confused at what his 'wife' was saying.

"Why can you kiss me but Lyle can't…? He likes me too, so why…?" He asked, looked over at the other Dylandy boy.

"Well…because he doesn't love you like I do." Lockon said simply, burying his face in his wife's soft hair.

"You don't know that!" Lyle yelled, reaching over and grabbing his brother by the collar of his shirt, "Hell, for all you know I could love him even more then you do-"

"You don't love him the way I do…" He said, looking his brother directly in the eye. That look…the one he was giving Lyle…it horrified him. Of course he knew when it came to protecting things one found 'precious' people could get a little…threatening?

But the boy holding him had gone beyond that level…the look he was giving his brother did not read 'don't touch him', oh no…it was much darker then that. The malice that leaked off of that look made the younger stiffen slightly, never thinking that such an expression could exist on someone like Lockon. Other then that other night, the boy had only shown Setsuna that he was only capable of one thing…idiocy. But now he saw that there was something locked away inside of him that was completely different then his outward appearance…maybe it was the thing the younger had 'saved' him from…If that was the case then it wasn't completely gone, and if this was just a small taste of it…he had no intention of bringing out it's full potential.

As he watched Lyle completely back off, Setsuna knew that he felt the same way he did. The boy didn't stop backing up until he hit the wall behind him, sliding down to the floor…expression never changing. He looked…scared. The other Dylandy probably knew he crossed a few lined, but to the youngest he looked as if he'd crossed a threshold that _**no one**_ was allowed into without permission…

"N-Nii-san…"

"So, shall we go, Setsuna-chan?" Lockon said, smiling down at him.

And as fast as the look was there, it was gone…just what exactly _was_ Lockon Stratos?

* * *

He'd really messed up…he'd let a little of himself leak out ever so slightly, causing just about everyone to shy somewhat away from him. He knew everyone had seen the look he'd given his brother, and after everything was said and done even he was startled by it. Neil thought that person was gone, that he had locked that part of him away in some far off corner of his mind…but as it seemed he needed a little more work. The oldest didn't know Lyle could get to him like that, hitting such a cord that made him snap so horribly. But his brother was wrong…he did _not_ love Setsuna the same way he did. He couldn't and he never would…it was impossible.

The older boy knew it was unfair to not say his brother had feelings for his 'wife', but to say that they were stronger then his was not even close to the truth. To love someone like the youngest the way he did required his brother to go through the exact same experience he had, which he could say without a doubt he hadn't. Lyle had not gone through the same hell as he did, so there was no way for him to truly understand what he was feeling.

He chose not to remember the days before Setsuna F Seiei, seeing them as things that no longer mattered. But ever now and then a few of them would come back, reminding him of the kind of person he tried to no longer be. Neil hated that person…he hated the fact that no matter how much he tried to separate himself from him is was still…_him_. During those two years of his life where it was the worse he just couldn't take it; saying it was hard for him to do anything was an understatement, and the only time he really had any energy was during school. Even if it was fake it was still energy, and he tried his best to work off as much liveliness as possible. He didn't want to take that home…he wasn't going to taint the only safe-haven he knew. He wasn't going to bring that falseness into such a place. Even if he did occasionally lie to his parents about what was going on in his life, he left that persona at the door. It wasn't like he initially wanted to deceive them, Neil just…didn't know.

He didn't know a thing about his life at the time, other then the horrible sinking feeling he woke up with ever morning…he just wasn't sure of anything. With lack of understanding came lack of control, and he in no way could control the thoughts that flooded his mind daily. They were all question that just pulled him down even further, making him think that his life was just…boring. And it was…so why was it worth live? As those thoughts began to swarm his attitude began to show it, with him become increasingly hostile to the people around him…especially his family. He knew his brother was worried about him, but the boy did nothing to help him. Maybe that was the reason he took most of his aggression out on him, always causing some sort of bodily harm because he wanted his twin to do _something_…anything.

But enough was enough; he'd spent enough time trying to get Lyle to help him, and he just so tired of it. Useless…that was the only thing he could feel at that time, and it was clear that he didn't server any sort of purpose in life. Growing up might've helped, but that process took too long for his liking. So why not just take it? If he held no purpose and was not wanted, why stay? Running away was just a stupid idea, having no place to go or no desired place to be. That would only prolong his despair, and he in no way wanted it to last any longer. So…he decided to do something…He remembered that day very well for two reasons…what he did and what he did not do. After coming for from…well he couldn't really call it playing since Tieria was yelling at them about something unimportant, he and his brother were in great need of sleep. After said nap homework needed to be done…but Neil had no intentions of doing anything of the sort once he'd awakened.

He'd hidden a knife under his futon, one he had obtained the other night while his family slept. He didn't know what he'd cut once he'd woken up, but he'd learned in class that his wrist and neck had the worst veins to sever. He'd try those…but first he needed to figure out if his mother was alive or not. After hearing absolute silence upon entering the house, he and his brother race up to their parent's room. It would've looked rather horrible if both the mother and one son of the household had died, so he was ridding on her still breathing so he could get what he needed done. It sounded awful to think something like that, but he did care about her even if his words were harsh. When the two of them come crashing to the ground, it was a relief to see that she was fine, merely on the phone speaking to someone. He and his brother waited for to finish, since he might've been moody but he was not rude.

During that time all he did was think…he thought about what he'd be leaving behind, which wasn't much in his opinion. He thought about the reaction of his family, who would obviously blame themselves for what he'd done. It wasn't their fault…he was the only one responsible for his actions, and he was the only one to blame for the feeling that had completely overcome him. But then again, was that particular thing really his fault? It had come over him the moment he'd turned twelve without warning, and he had really done nothing to deserver such a fate. But he couldn't change that kind of thing.

Neil was snapped out of his thoughts when something was placed in front of him, making him reach up and take it from his mother. It was a picture of someone he'd never seen before, but when his mother began to explain just who that person was and why they were important…he was more then just a little interested. This person…the one in the picture was his…wife. He was shocked at first, having just found out that he was already married to someone. But that feeling was quickly overcome with something else, something he didn't think he was capable of feeling in his current state. Overwhelming happiness. Not only had he been given a purpose for the first time in his life, but he was now had to take care of another life. Neil almost felt like tearing up because he was finally needed by someone, even if it was someone he didn't know. He was…needed.

To be a husband was…a great honor indeed, and with that honor came responsibility. It wasn't like taking care of a pet, oh no, it was much more then that. He had to love this person unconditionally, taking care of them and their needs. He was to make sure that person was happy, and he was never allowed to hurt them. It might've seemed like quite a bit a doing, but he would try his hardest to do everything he could for that person.

"S-Setsuna-chan, please sit down, I don't want you get hurt." He said, gently pulling on the on the younger boy's sleeve. All six of them were currently on a bus heading to town, having gotten permission to do so from his mother. But because of the incident that had taken place in his room, no one (evenHallelujah surprisingly) was in a talkative mood, and that meant the ride was going to be a very awaked one. Both Haptisms sat in the front of the bus with Tieria_, _Allelujah next to the second youngest while his brother sat across from him. Lyle sat in the back, his cheek pressed against the glass window and eyes gazing out of it which looked completely emotionless. Neil sat next to his wife in the middle of the bus, who was sitting on his knees looking out the window. It didn't help that the bus was pretty much empty (aside from them of course), which only fueled the awkwardness. It did hurt knowing that the people he knew as his friends were ignoring him, but it was really hurt knowing that the person he loved was doing the same.

He really did love him…it wasn't some kind of act he put on in front of others. He knew he was little touchy-feely whenever he was around, but he really didn't mean any harm by it. He wanted to keep him close because he was afraid of losing him, and just having him there made him happy. Before the youngest came to town he thought about him often, wondering what kind of person his new wife was going to be. Waiting drove him crazy, and it only became worse the day he was supposed to visit for the very first time. It was already the afternoon, and the only thing he could do was toss and turn on his futon. He knew he probably should've been doing something productive to pass the time, but meeting his wife was the only thing that mattered.

When he finally heard his mother come into his room, telling him that there was someone he needed to meet…he froze for a few seconds. This was it…this was the moment he'd been waiting for. Jumping up and followed her downstairs, feeling so nervous he thought he was going to be sick to his stomach. He was finally going to meet the person that had saved him from himself, the one he had completely fallen in love without them having ever spoken to him. Neil's butterflies only became worse as he walked through the front door, standing in front of a very pretty woman. He could easily see the person trying to hide behind her, and he felt his hear skip a beat. It was him…He was small which only made him even more cute, so his actions from that point on couldn't entirely be blamed on him.

"Setsuna…" Neil started, getting on his knees next to the younger boy, "I'm sorry…"

"W-what…?" Setsuna said, finally looking over that the boy.

"I'm sorry…for scaring you." He said, leaning against him and gently placing his head against his wife's shoulder. He saw Setsuna give him a confused look, but then quickly direct his gaze back to the window.

"You didn't scare-"

"Please don't lie to me, not about this…" Neil said in a small voice, pulling the boy forward into a tight hug, "I never meant to hurt you like that, and I'm really sorry."

He felt the younger boy stiffen slightly, and he could only hold him tighter as he did so. Neil didn't want his wife to fear him, thinking that he was the old him rather then the new. Even though that person was still inside him, he wasn't in control any longer. But he would try his hardest to completely rid himself of that person, just so he wouldn't hurt the person he loved.

He knew Setsuna had emotions even if the boy acted as if he didn't, having witnessed them the first time he'd walked away from him and the morning he completely broke down in front of him. On both occasions he absolutely felt awful about putting the boy in such a state, but he had told him that he was going to save him. Looking at him that night it was clear that his wife was in a hole; perhaps it was similar to the one he was two years ago, but his seemed to be a little darker then his. However, that did not mean the hole was bigger. There was still hope if he could reach in and pull him out, but it really didn't matter if Setsuna didn't want to be seen. Saving someone required two people, the person doing the saving and the person who was willing to be saved. Neil was more then willing to put himself out there for his wife, but if the youngest was alright with his current position there was nothing he could do. If that happened he could only watch as the person he loved slowly descend to a place he couldn't reach, completely cut off form the world.

He felt the youngest push him away, but it wasn't like the other times. He gripped his sleeve and got up from his spot in the bus, pulling Neil along with him. He didn't need to question where they going since the bus wasn't all that large, but when he did figure it out he felt like hanging his head in shame. Lyle…But his wife was right; even if he hadn't said a word, he knew what Setsuna wanted him to do. His brother didn't deserve to be snapped at, even if his comment had hit him deeper (it was even worse then the 'horrible husband' one). But the real problem was that he did not know what to say, and since the mood in the vehicle was already heavy he really did not want to make the situation even any worse.

As they finally reached the back of the bus, his brother had not even moved an inch. He was the one who was probably freaked out the most, having dealt with his past self personally. To be reminded of that time probably sent the boy into shock, which was understandable seeing that he was not the most pleasant of people to him. Neil had never actually apologized to him for the way he acted, and he knew that if he didn't soon he would miss his chance.

"Lyle…" He said, hoping his twin would make this somewhat easy. But of course, the other boy had no intention of accepting anything his brother said since he had not even acknowledged his presence. Touching him was out of the question, almost certainly making things worse…but he knew that was probably the only thing his brother would respond to. It might have been seen as just another idiotic move on his part, but he knew his brother well enough to know what would and would not work on him. So, he reached over and wrapped his arms around the boy's neck, pulling him into a tight hug.

"W-What the hell!" His brother screeched, completely taken by surprise.

"LLLLyle! Big brother wishes to apologize!" He said, holding him tighter.

"Get off of me! Can't you do anything without acting like an idiot?" Lyle said, desperately trying to pull away from his crazed brother.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! For everything!" Neil said, hugging him even tighter. Even if he was in the middle of a rather ridiculous situation, there actually was sincerity in his voice. He really did mean what he said, and the 'everything' part just made his brother look up at him. There was a short period of silence, and seeing that Neil knew that at a time like this thoughts needed to be processed he allowed it.

"…Fine, fine, I accept your apology! Now let me go!" Lyle said, not really as demanding as before. He was more then willing to comply with his brother's wishes, letting him go and smiling a little. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his wife looking at him with an expression he couldn't read, probably do to the fact that he noticed the 'everything' at the end of his sentence. He knew Setsuna was by no means a normal ten year old, noticing things that someone his age probably wouldn't have bothered with. He liked and disliked that quality about his wife; he knew that he was still just a kid no matter what he said, but he also knew that acting older then one really was could unintentionally cause problems down the line. But he would be there to make sure nothing horrible happened to him…It was his duty as the husband to protect his wife.

"I'll do whatever I can!"

"…Stop talking to yourself, Lockon…"

"Yes, Setsuna-chan."


	5. The Heat Chapter

Setsuna could only sigh as he sat outside the convenient store. He really had no idea that the main town would be twice as hot as the village, and he really did wish someone had informed him before he agreed to come. It was tough enough to function around five very rowdy boys, but to do it in such heat made it damn near impossible. He was on the verge of snapping at someone, and if he didn't get his hands on something cold in the next minute he was going to attack someone. Seriously, where was his…husband? He was certainly taking his sweet little time in that store, wasn't he?

After Lockon had managed to lift the fowl mood on the bus with his idiotic actions, he had brought them right back to where they started that day. He didn't mind though, rather having everyone in some sort of argument or random conversation. Setsuna found that he actually…preferred it that way. The youngest liked it when they talked, liked seeing the emotion they put behind their words. But what he didn't like was the emotion his…husband had put behind his apology to him.

While on the bus he really didn't wish to have any contact with the older boy, still feeling slightly shaken by what had happened in his room. He was scared; even if he denied it…he was scared. That look…it was so close to the one the he'd been given by all of the kids who tortured him. It was much more intense then the ones the other children would give him, but it still held the same malice as theirs. Since that life was gone, still sitting inside of him in small shards, he couldn't help but look back and wonder…how. How was it possible that he felt absolutely nothing as they pushed him? How could he not feel some sort of emotion as they pelted him with rocks, tore his clothes and called him horrible names? But that look…it brought something out of him that he really wished it hadn't.

He didn't want to feel that kind of pain, not when he was trying to change. It was at the moment that he finally felt something, and he tried his best to suppress it on the bus. It was a low feeling that made him sick to his stomach; to be treated in such a way was unacceptable, but yet he managed to let it all slide without a second thought. It wasn't right for him to block it out then, and it certainly wasn't right him force himself to block it out on the bus. He didn't want them to see his useless waste of an emotion that had been brought up by past memories, they probably wouldn't have cared (deep down he knew that wasn't true). He didn't want to cry in front if them or anyone for that matter…but that person just had to go say 'I'm sorry' for his actions.

When Lockon had told him that he was 'sorry' he felt like letting go so badly, but he had already shown himself enough to the boy. Maybe that was it…maybe it was alright for him to just show those kinds of things to his…husband, regardless of what the outcome might've been. But was he even at the point where he could consider such a thing? He didn't feel a thing whenever the older boy said that he 'loved him', so was it alright for him to put his emotions out there if he didn't accept anyone else's? It didn't seem right to ask for something like that, and though he did not have feelings for the older boy…he didn't want to treat him like that. Okay, so he was forcing Lockon to help him change, but…that was different. He wasn't going to play with someone's feelings like that.

If he was going to use his…husband as a means to get himself better, he need to get close to him. Of course that was easier said then done, since he was not the kind of person to open up like _that_. Other then the times when he just completely lost it, he didn't really know how to do such a thing without being provoked in some form. He needed to let it happen willingly, naturally if you will, not have his…husband piss him off to the point of erupting. He knew he needed to work on that, and just acknowledging that he did was a good start.

But just having a good start wasn't enough…he needed to let people into the life he was trying to desperately create. He would start out slow, obviously going with the person he'd already show some type of emotion to. Setsuna knew it was the easy way out, but wasn't that the route he needed to take? If he decided to go to either of the Haptism boys, or even Tieria for that matter it would've taken much more out of him. But Lockon…or maybe his brother would've give him the time he needed, however; he was still very much afraid of just what he would be unleashing.

After departing from the bus, Setsuna was instantly hit with the full heat of the town. Why the hell was is so much hotter there? It was probably due to it contained many more people then the village did, and he was rather thankful that he lived there and not in town. Since that was the first impression of the town he received, he automatically saw it as a bad place to be. It was probably wrong of him to do, but he was in no mood to deal with much. Heat always made him a little irritated, but _that_ heat made him just want to collapse on the ground and beg for mercy. It beamed down on him like it was out for vengeance, and he was willing to admit defeat if his pride hadn't gotten the best of him. Since he and Change now had a mutual understanding he couldn't very well say that it 'wasn't his friend' anymore…so he needed a substitute. Since he was probably have to deal with it till the end of August (when school started), he found it rather appropriate to put the heat against him.

But the heat was a much more formidable opponent then his former foe…He spend the better half of the trip ridding on Lockon's back, feeling too tired to walk more then five steps. Of course he was hesitant about the idea at first, thinking that holding onto the other in such a way would earn them more then just a few looks from people on the street. But he couldn't help but give in, the heat forcing its rays on him nearly made him sick. The older boy said he didn't mind carrying him around all day, also adding that his…wife 'wasn't heavy at all'. Well…that was a nice thing to know, right? But that could've very well have been a lie, but he really wasn't in the mood to bring something like that up. He knew the heat was laughing at him, mocking his position because dammit it had that kind of time! It was _heat_…it could've very well been somewhere else, annoying the hell out of anyone else, but no…it had chosen him as its adversary. The youngest was more then happy to go against it…but not in town.

Before heading off to do anything remotely 'fun' (well, that's what the oldest called it), the six of them stopped into what looked like a flower shop. The first thing the youngest thought of when he saw it was how sickeningly romantic it would've been if his…husband actually purchased him said plants, but that idea was quickly discarded without a second thought. He wouldn't accept them if Lockon ever did such a thing, because…well, he didn't really know. He could tolerate the hugging and maybe the kissing, but that particular show of affections just did not sit well with him. He knew what gift giving was, having gone through it on his birthday and certain holidays. But…those gifts were given to him solely by his parents.

He'd never received any sort of token from anyone else, since he was not the most popular of people at school (he didn't even want to think about the events of Valentines Day). Chocolates, small trinkets, even cards were never in his possession unless his parents had given them to him. So…how would he react if someone had actually decided to grace him with such a gesture? It was obvious that he hadn't the slightest idea as to how he would react, so didn't that make it a perfect opportunity for his…husband to act?

He would _**never**_ admit it out loud but he actually…wanted the older boy to do something nice for him. Setsuna might've outwardly hated everything his…husband did, but he was grateful for it. He didn't feel a thing whenever the older boy touched him, but he knew over time something would come from it. He _needed_ that…he needed something different in his life, something that was not school, his parents, or the thing pulling him down. Even if it annoyed him at first, he actually…_needed_ Lockon (another thing he would utter out loud). By no means was it in some kind of affectionate way, but he did need that person to make sure his life was…complete. God, was he really thinking about all of this?

Once inside the shop, he noticed someone asleep at the counter which to him wasn't very professional. They looked to be a foreigner according to the Japanese standards, since the person asleep did sport blonde hair. He didn't see many people with blonde hair around, even when he attended school in the city the only real 'out there' color was a light brown. His mother had told him that said color did not appear naturally in their society, and when questioned why he was told he'd have to wait till he was older to get the full explanation. He knew something like that was in no way a sexual topic (he didn't know exactly what that meant, but he had some idea), so it was probably some sort of long complicated explanation that he wouldn't understand. His mother had a habit of explaining things at a level he just could not for the life of him comprehend, and after the first few times he called her out on it. He couldn't blame her, since he himself did not like to be talk to like a child.

If there was anything more irritating then being called a 'child' it was being talk to like one. Because he was the age he was people like to randomly stop his mother or father on the street, ask them how old he was (which he was perfectly capable of doing by himself), and then proceed to speak to him in some sort of odd gibberish language. Setsuna couldn't tell what they were talking about, trying to figure out if there was any sort of language he could recognize (he heard some English, but other then that he was lost). After everything was over he would tug the side of his parent's clothes, asking his mother or father just what the person had said after they had left. They admitted they too hadn't the slightest idea, and that made him feel a little better about himself. His parents then dubbed it _'baby speak'_ which displeased him to no end. He was_ not_ a baby…and did not want to be talk to like that. Hell, his parents didn't even speak to him in that way!

If there was one thing his mother and father noticed right off the back about him, it would've been his absolutely distasteful attitude towards anyone who interpreted him as a child. Since he knew they did not wish to be on the receiving end of his fury (if one could call it that), he told them point blank not to treat him like one. Of course this needed some getting use to on their part, them slipping up every now and then. But in the long run he knew they noticed his contentment, which was enough for him.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the 'oldest' Haptism immediately smirk, darting from his position next to him and over to the sleeping person. It didn't come to any kind of surprise to him (or anyone else for that matter) when Hallelujah began to furiously ring the small bell next to the person, promptly startling them to the point where they fell out of the chair they were sitting in. Setsuna just shook his head ever so slightly as he saw the second oldest fall his knees and begin to laugh hysterically, much to the displeasure of both his brother and the formally sleeping person. He briefly wondered just why no one stopped the 'elder' Haptism from doing the things he did, but he quickly discarded that thought when the former sleeping blonde grabbed onto him. He watched with mild amazement as Hallelujah was thrown into what he hoped was a closet, the door swiftly locked once the boy was fully inside.

That was…rather interesting. Setsuna…well really everyone could hear the second youngest cursing rather loudly from his holding area, and he couldn't help but notice Tieria smirking ever so slightly…which was understandable. Now that he was standing and not sitting, he could finally get a better look at the blonde boy who had performed quite the feat. He was taller then all six of them, which meant he was probably older then the group (seriously, was there no one around _exactly_ his age around?) and if that was the case then he was probably a high school student.

He'd been told by his mother that the school system had been broken up into four levels in the village; the first was the primary level where children would learn the basic of the curriculum, and this particular level lasted till one finally turned five. After that was the secondary level of the school, and that lasted from the ages of six to eight. Next was upper-secondary level, (which was where he'd be attending once school started back up) consisting of the ages nine to eleven. The last level was the 'middle', and it was there that children from the ages of twelve to fourteen would work out their final days in the building they'd grown so fond of. When one finally turned fifteen it was time to start high school, but they could not do so in the village. The only high school was in town, so that meant the 'older kids' would have to rid the bus practically everyday just to attend it.

At that time he didn't think much about leaving the village to go to such a place, but during his 'time of change' something finally occurred to him…wouldn't Lockon be attending before him? Given the gap between their ages, it could easily be deducted that the only time they'd be in the same 'educational environment' would be the two years while in the village (his thirteenth and fourteenth year). For some reason that troubled him to the point of slight panic, thinking that the worst was going to happen if the boy left. He already knew his school experience was going to be a rough one, but…the older boy not being there wasn't really going to matter, right? It wasn't like he wanted some knight in shinning armor to come and save him from whatever kind of hell he was going to face, he just…hell he wasn't sure anymore. It just seemed like the more he tried to rationalize any kind of thought or feeling about his…husband, the more the just confused himself. It would've been better if he just said that he 'wanted him around because he was his lackey'.

And that's what he would leave it at…for the time being of course…

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the much older boy address them as the 'brat pack', making him believe that the blonde was an acquaintance of theirs. When the question of 'who are you?' was sent his way, he didn't need to say a word since his _wonderful_…husband answered for him. Setsuna was still not use to word 'wife' coming out of Lockon's mouth, but it was much better then having 'aishiteru' come out of it that was for sure. But did he really feel the need to introduce both of them like that all the time? After all, saying that 'this is my wife' meant that random people would see them as a couple and that was…rather discomforting. He didn't want people to know the position he was in, to see them judging him with looks they thought couldn't be read. He received enough of that from the children he he'd dealt with, and he really didn't want more from people he didn't know.

For that matter, wouldn't it make his torture even worse if those children found out he was legally married? They picked with him for no apparent reason, and if they were indeed given one the result would've been less then desired. He seriously needed to talk to him…for his own safety.

The youngest noticed that the blonde boy had an blank look on his face, as if processing what his…husband had just said. The blonde boy's eyes were green, probably not the same color as Lyle's but he once again did not linger there long. Upon hearing him laugh he couldn't help but look up, the blank look now replaced with one of pure amusement. It was clear that the much older looking boy had accepted what his…husband had said, and from the way he ruffled his hair he seemed fine with it. Setsuna obviously swatted the boy's hand away, in no way pleased with the action. The blonde boy just laughed again and introduced himself as Graham Aker, adding that he was a former '_military brat_' originally from the States.

Now the youngest had heard this term before, knowing that it meant that at one point the much older boy had one or both parents in the military. Not only that, but it also meant that he moved around much more then the average person. Somewhat similar to Setsuna's situation, whenever his parents would be transferred over to another base his family would have to move as well. He knew what it felt like to leave the only place you'd known for years behind, even if the youngest didn't really feel anything as he departed.

Perking up a little he introduced himself, but this time feeling a little less uneasy about it. He saw Graham's smile brighten a little, telling him that it was 'nice to see Neil out and about for once'. There it was again…the mention of a different person from the one carrying him, like there had been two separate people with the name Lockon Stratos (he still refused to call the boy by his real name). They really needed to talk…as soon as possible, because he was in need of some answers to the questions he was desperately asking himself. Just who or what was Lockon Stratos? He thought that if he understood that person then he could maybe understand himself, that maybe if he knew someone else he could slowly learn the kind of person he was on the inside. It was an odd logic he knew, but that's the way things worked in his mind. He was the kind of person to over think things to the point of obsession (or at lest that's what he thought it was), and he knew that part of him needed to be toned down quite a bit. But once again just knowing wasn't going to help him…

After a quick conversation between the four of them and the blonde (well, Setsuna stayed pretty much silent), they said their goodbyes and began to leave. Out of curiosity the youngest asked if they were leaving the 'oldest' Haptism, to which everyone directed their attention to Allelujah. The second oldest said that his brother has some sort of business with Graham, saying that he wanted to go into town even before Tieria had not suggested it. Everyone thought it was a good enough reason to leave the boy, so they did. Setsuna saw nothing wrong with it, since the boy had said that he had business with the blonde, and it was probably best if they just left him alone. But of course, after returning to the outside world his nemesis decided to make itself know once again.

He couldn't help but groan a little at this, burying his face in the back of his…husband's neck. Like most things he did around Lockon, that little action did not go unnoticed; it was just another hard thing he'd have to get use to, but…at lest the attention he was getting wasn't the bad kind (sort of). At lest the older boy didn't harm him physically whenever he made the slightest motion, degrading him to the point where he felt nothing. He'd gotten enough of that kind of treatment from others, and since it was hot he really didn't think he could stand being treated like that by his…husband.

The older boy stopped, asking what was bothering him. Without even looking he knew there was a look of some kind of concern on his…husband's face, making him squirm a little. Even if he asked him not to, he knew Lockon would never stop 'caring' about him. An attachment to someone you didn't even know…it was something he still couldn't understand. To meet, to become friends, to fall in love, to marry…those were the basic steps in obtaining something called a 'relationship' (or so he'd heard). But somehow the two of them had skipped over quite a few of those steps to end up where they were today, but he couldn't complain about something he couldn't change.

He told his…husband that he was in great need of something cold, because he felt like he was going to pass out soon. To this the older boy walked across the street and gently placing him down, patting him on the head once he was standing. Lockon told him that he knew exactly what he need; he watched as the older boy walking into what looked like a small store of some kind, saying that he was only going to gone for a few minutes. Sitting on the curb, he noticed Lyle do the same, plopping down next to him with a troubled look on his face. Setsuna didn't know what the other Dylandy had on his mind, but it was clear from the look that he wanted (or needed) to say something. After a few minutes he felt a hand place itself gently on his head, not patting him but just resting. It was another sign of affection he didn't understand, but when he heard the words 'I'm sorry' he couldn't help but look up at the older boy.

Another apology…He wasn't use to other people saying those words to him, but when the Dylandy boys spoke that phrase to him…he felt bad. Even if he had no idea what Lyle was apologizing for, he knew that he was the cause of it. He hated knowing that he was bringing other people grief, especially since he had no intention of doing so. Setsuna might not have liked what either of the twins did to him, but that didn't give him a right to completely trample all over them. He listened as older boy told him that he had crossed a line back at his house, that he didn't mean to cause the youngest so much trouble. The other Dylandy continued on, saying that he had no right to kiss him like that no matter how much he wanted to. He saw the older boy blush slightly, adding that he really did 'love' him like his brother did, but it was wrong of him to say that his feelings were stronger.

He really didn't know what to say to that…The other Dylandy had just put his emotions out there for him, and all he could do was look at him. From the way his brother acted on the bus, it seemed that the older boy responded well to actions better then words. That was fine with the youngest, seeing that he hadn't the slightest clue what he should say. Leaning over a little he placed his head against Lyle's shoulder, partially to try and show a little _something_ since Lyle had, and partially out of the exhaustion he was feeling because…well…it was _**hot**_. Even if he himself didn't feel a thing, it didn't mean the other Dylandy couldn't. But as the heat began another assault on his tired body, he slowly began to believe that he was only resting against the older boy simply because he was worn out.

After a few more minute he began to get restless, wondering just what the hell was taking his…husband. He'd gone in ten minutes ago, and that had been far too long for the youngest. He had the right mind to walk in there and drag him out, but he was far too drained to move anymore then he already was. Now there wasn't any sort of argument going on, but just the sound of the second youngest and Allelujah talking was giving him a headache.

In short, everything was starting to irritate him…

"Back!"

And that was not helping him…After finally emerging from the convenient store, the youngest noticed the rather full bag Lockon was holding. That's what he went in there for? _Snacks_? He was outside roasting and he was getting confectionaries? He was not pleased to say that lest, having found out that his…husband was inside spending money on useless little pieces sugar. Maybe it was just his irritation talking, but he really felt like saying something nasty.

"Here." Lockon said, dangling a bottle of what looked like some kind of liquid in front of him. Wait…liquid? Didn't liquid equal cold? And didn't cold mean he'd feel ten times better? Reaching up he quickly took it, the action not really considered snatching but it could've been a little gentler. Examining it closer he found that he had no idea what it was. He knew it was soda since it was clearly printed on it (peach flavored to be exact), but he'd never seen this kind before. _Ramune _was right above the words that said 'peach flavored', and besides the rather odd name he noticed its odd shape. The neck of the bottle looked like it was pinched together, making him turn it in different positions to see if any of the peachy flavored liquid made it to the top (which it did). Upon pulling off what he thought was the top, he saw a strange round object blocking the opening which looked to be made out of some kind of clear material.

It was so odd…pressing on it he found that it was tightly wedged in the opening of the glass bottle, making access to the fizzy water inside impossible. Why was he given this device? To mock him? He placed it on the ground and just looked at it, knowing that the heat surrounding him was basically laughing in his face. He didn't like this…a bottle that could not be opened in front of him, mocking him with its inability to do what he wanted…not to mention his new enemy was still bearing down in him. He did not want to be messed with at the moment, and he almost felt like glaring at the older boy for putting him in such a position.

"Need help?" His…husband asked, sitting down next to him. The youngest didn't say a word, not wanting to play anymore games. Setsuna did, however, watch as the older boy picked up the unopenable bottle as well as the piece he thought was a top. Tilting his head to the side he saw Lockon detach a object that resembled a plunger of sorts from the 'cap', place it at the opening of said bottle and thrust it against the circular object blocking it. With a small 'clunk' the unidentifiable object was then revealed to be a marble, and the youngest couldn't help but become mesmerized by whole thing.

"…Do it again." He said, attention still fixated on the now open bottle.

"Um, okay." The oldest said, reaching into the bag and pulling out another one. As the action was repeated, he couldn't help but be amazed as he witnessed the small glass marble slowly bob up and down, the fizzy bubbles from the carbonation latching onto it as it did so. He'd never witnessed anything like it before, wanting to see it one more time just to make sure it was real.

"Let me do mine." Tieria said with a small sigh, reaching into the bag and pulling out the same bottle but with a different colored substance inside of it. Instead of the orange tint the first two had this one was a pale green, perhaps meaning it was apple or lime flavored. He only knew this from past experiences that green colored anything usually meant it was going to taste like either of those things, however; when he read the label to said bottle it said…melon. _Melon flavored soda_? There was such a thing? He saw the second youngest perform that same action Lockon had, thrusting the little plunger in and letting the little marble fall into the spot made just for it. He just couldn't believe it…it was just too amazing. Why was he not aware that such things existed in the world?

Picking up his now opened bottle, he touched it to his lips and took a little sip. It certainly didn't taste like the sodas he'd had back in the States, which further fueled his fascination with the strange beverage. As he took a bigger swig it didn't stay in his mouth for too long, after hearing the phrase 'Ramune Virgin' come from Tieria's direction he couldn't help but do a spit-take.

"T-Tieria, that's not very nice." Allelujah said, probably meaning for it to be sympathetic in some way…but it could easily be seen that he had wanted to say the same thing the second youngest had.

"What? It's true isn't it? It the first time he's had it, kinda like the first time someone has se-"

"Whoa, whoa, that's way too much information!" His…husband said, pulling the youngest into a tight embrace, "Besides, the only person who can talk about virginity around Setsuna-chan is me."

"Why?"

"Well…because it belongs to me, and maybe one day I'll take it."

_That_ made everyone give off what were probably the best reactions Setsuna had seen in a while. The 'youngest' Haptism just stared at the older boy with a dumbfound look on his face, probably too shocked to say anything. Tieria just screeched 'pervert' over and over again as he tried to readjust his glasses, having nearly fallen off his face due to the sudden jerk his body gave off after hearing what Lockon had said. Lyle…oh Lyle…his was probably the best (it was more fitting to say worst) out of the bunch. He was blushing deeply, probably the deepest the youngest had seen the other Dylandy boy blush since he'd met him. His right hand was gripping his shirt, trying desperately to stop himself from choking on the sweet liquid he'd just tried to drink down.

Who says things like that? But then again it was Lockon Stratos he was talking about, and the boy was known for his completely outrageous actions. Though that might've been true, he couldn't help but look up at the older boy with an unreadable expression. Did he really mean that? Granted he didn't really know how one actually lost their virginity, but given the others reactions it sounded like it would be…a horrible experience. It seemed like one of those things that he shouldn't ask his parents, seeing that it caused this much mayhem it would be rather terrible if he got himself in trouble for asking a question. His mother and father were the kind of people to answer whatever questions he asked, be it from the innocent to the lewd (he had to pay for those).

But this just seemed like a bad idea waiting to happen…

"N-Now that was too much information, Nii-san…" Lyle said, finally calming himself down.

"But isn't that married people do?" His…husband said, holding him a little tighter.

"You're only thirteen!" The other Dylandy shouted, the blush on his face only growing deeper. Setsuna could only shake his head a little, wondering just how he was always dragged into such insanity. But it was that insanity that he needed right now, that randomness that seemed to have no point…he needed that.

Sometimes it was necessary to act without reason, to do things so spontaneous it made the people around wonder if something was wrong with you. He'd lived such a schedulable life before, never falling out of what he knew because of the thing inside of him. It lead him down a path he didn't know how to waver from, a place where no light shined. But since he had deviated from that path he could not go back, it being far too broken for him to tread upon once again. So he could only make a new one…It was a tough thing for someone his age to do, tough for someone his age to even consider doing. But Fate had never shined any kind of good fortune of that sort on him, so he would have to ignore whatever that thing had planned for him and strive forward.

Upon seeing the second youngest get up and begin to leave, dragging Allelujah with him while yelling that he 'couldn't take anymore', he knew that lines had probably been crossed once again. So they had just lost two more members of their group, and the worst was that they had just lost half of the sweets (there were two bags keeping everything in, so it could've been easily been done) along with them. Tugging on his…husband's sleeve, he silently told him that it was probably time to move on since half of their reserves were gone. He didn't really acknowledge it, but the older boy did smile down at him. When he stood Setsuna stood as well, picking up the fascination glasses as they did so. But as he did he noticed that Lyle did not do that same, still staying in the spot he had when he apologized to him. Before he could ask just why, he was told by the other Dylandy that this was his and his brother's time, and that he would in no way interfere with it.

So he knew too…The youngest needed some time alone with Lockon, and from how things looked in the beginning it seemed that time wouldn't come till much later. He really did want to get the whole thing over with, but the youngest also knew that he couldn't rush _that_ kind of situation. Just pulling the oldest to the side wasn't going to work in the slightest, knowing that would've raised far too many brows if he did so. Besides, what he wanted to talk about wasn't causal so he didn't want just anyone overhearing him. It was…essentially going to make or break him, shaping just how he saw his new life. He wanted something new…something that he wasn't use to, and if he did not get that…it would be over. He would have no life…and that was not an option at this point.

As they left he couldn't help but look over his shoulder at the other Dylandy, mouthing the words 'thank you' as he did so. He knew when to use such a phrase, and this was definitely one of those times. He knew how the rules worked; since Lyle had just done a great favor to him he would owe him something in return, and it would be whatever the older boy wanted. He had no right to decline the offer, only going along with whatever it was. But…he didn't think Lyle was the kind of person to push any kind of harm on him. If his 'feelings' for him were put into play, the only thing the other Dylandy probably would've asked for was a kiss of sorts.

Deciding to walk this time around, he noticed that the air (besides being hot beyond belief) had gotten thick once again…just like _that_ time. He didn't want to look over at his…husband, not wanting to see the expression on his face. He wanted to wait…he wanted to deal with everything at once, not letting the moment slip away. Emotions needed to be shown, but Setsuna still held some hesitations when it came to that. He didn't want to go overboard like he had the first two times, showing more then he wanted and hating himself for it. That wasn't what he sought after, and he had no desired to repeat those actions. What was that saying people seemed to use in these types of situations? Third time's a charm?

Once he finally looked around, he found that they were standing in front of what looked like a condemned building. He was then taken by the hand and lead inside, wondering just what he was in store for. The place looked dusty obviously, but there were signs that life had come in contact with it. There were marks on the floor from something heavy being dragged, and as he followed the trail with his eyes he saw that it lead up a few flights of stairs. Of course he was pulled in the direction of those stairs, and the uneasy feeling inside of him only grew with each step he took. As they came upon landing after landing, he couldn't help but question just how far they were going. The roof seemed like the easiest answer, but in a place like this one could never really be sure.

This was quite the build-up for something he thought wasn't going to last long, but if this is what it took to just start he didn't even what to think about how long the actual talk was going to take. Things like this weren't supposed to be easy; they weren't supposed to just sit around and chat idly, they were supposed to have a deep conversation to know just what the other was. People didn't think someone his or his…husband's ages were capable of such a thing, only concerning themselves with what they were going to do tomorrow for fun. But most have never seen two people their ages in such a situation, one confused about everything and the other…well he didn't know. As far has he was concerned Lockon Stratos was an anomaly in his old life, just appearing out of nowhere and causing him so much disorder. But it was because of that disorder that he found out the old life he was living was wrong, so he had to…thank him for that somewhere down the line.

Once they'd finally stopped at what looked like the final door, he latched onto the older boy's arm mostly out of instinct. Whenever he found himself in a situation he deemed unnerving, he'd always hold onto his mother or father for some kind of support. It was a habit he couldn't shake for some reason, even if he kept a straight face he always seemed to unconsciously grab them without a second thought. But he never did such a thing to people he didn't know, always opting to bite his bottom lip or tune everything out if he was not needed in the situation at all. But he had gone against that rule, having touched another in surprise the same way he touched his parents. It was so odd…the feeling of touching another like that.

When he saw the door open he winched slightly; the inside of the building was dim, making his eyes adjust to the poor lighting. But when the door was opened he was nearly blinded by the sunlight, having to shield himself by burying his face in the older boy's arm. He felt himself moving once again, still not wanting to look up because his eyes had yet to correct themselves. He relied on Lockon to take him wherever they were going, even if he had no clue just where that was. The unsettling feeling had in no way gone done, only nagging at his stomach and telling him that he should probably bolt for the door. He knew the older boy meant him no harm, seeing that if he had he most likely wouldn't have let the youngest make it as far as he had. He could've easily pushed him back down the stairs once at the top, laughing as he did so. But he hadn't…

Finally deciding to look up, he found himself standing in a small room, no longer outside. Life had definitely been here, since the place was in no way dusty like the inside of the building. How strange…the room was filled furniture; an old looking couch sat against the left side of the room, completely backed up against the wall. Across from it was a wooden desk, a few paper sprawled on its surface as if forgotten. To the right of it was a television perched on top of a wooden crate, the words_ 'Aker's Gardening' _written on the side. The device placed on top of it was slightly smaller then the one in his…husband's room, but other then that it was the same model. There were only two windows in the room, both were a few inches away from each other, against the same wall the wooden desk was.

"This place use to belong to Graham-kun," Lockon finally said, "But after he entered high school he gave it to me and my brother"

"…Why?" Setsuna asked, still holding onto him.

"Don't know really, he just said we needed it more then he did." He said, pulling the youngest over to the couch. He didn't say a word as he was seated next to the older boy, didn't flinch as he was once again pulled into a tight embrace. It wasn't as tight as it usually was, but he was still pressed against his chest. It did feel a little uncomfortable as the heat from his…husband began to mix with the heat around him, making him fidget a little.

There was silence, the only thing that could be heard were the cicadas that screeched loudly outside. Of course with the blistering weather came the many sounds of the season, but he noticed that such a season here was different then the one back home. In the city there was noise, such constant commotion that never stopped no matter what time of the day it was. Even as he slept he could hear the continuous sounds of cars driving by, people talking, and the always present sound of something somewhere hitting the ground just because it could. But when he moved it was almost startling; the most noise he heard throughout the day were the boisterous birds or insects that flew by, and in some cases the occasional car. With that aside there was nothing…no sounds of teenage girls talking about what they were going to do Saturday, or vehicle engines that stalled over and over again until they decided to cooperate.

There was also another sound he'd never heard before…happiness. He could hear it…every time Tieria called one of them a pervert or lecher, when Hallelujah started fights just for the hell of it, whenever Allelujah tried to disputably break up those fights, and _every_ time the Dylandy boys told him some kind of love confession…he could hear the happiness. The sound of joy from people around his age didn't register with him at first, having only heard the malevolence that filled the voices of the children that torture him. But when it finally hit him, the moment he understood just what he was listening to…it was once again one of the many things that startled him about the town.

"…Why are you so nice to me?" He finally said, breaking the silence that had gone on for far too long.

"Because, you're the first person to make me feel like this." His…husband said, holding him a little tighter. Well…that was a change. He had not said the expected 'because I love you' or 'because I'm your husband', but given the situation it seemed like a waste of time to say such things.

"Like what?" He asked, hoping the answer wouldn't start a downward spiral he couldn't control.

"Like I'm needed…" Lockon muttered, holding him much tighter and burying his face in his soft hair. The youngest didn't move, letting what his…husband had said sink in. Needed…he'd never really felt that before, only actually needed other people but not having the action returned. But there was the problem; it wasn't that he couldn't relate to what the older boy had said, but was more that he hadn't felt what he was talking about _at all _that was getting to him. He didn't know what it felt like to be needed by someone, but he did know the opposite of 'needed' was 'useless'.

Useless…that pretty much summed up how he felt about himself from time to time, especially after 'the incident' that had taken place last week. He didn't do anything…just keep to himself and hope he made it through the day in one piece. The youngest wasn't not vocal about anything in the past, always letting everything go like it was a small nothing that didn't impact him. He didn't show emotions because he thought they were trivial, a waste of energy and time that couldn't be gotten back.

But that was indeed in the past…Right now he knew that frame of mind was not correct, but for some reason the more he tried to put the word 'useless' behind him, the more he found that it was rather apparent that it was the truth. This too was probably a fabrication of the thing inside of him, but it seemed to be more realistic then the others. That scared him…

"…I don't think I'm needed…" Setsuna said truthfully, noticing the older boy's grip on him completely loosen. He felt himself be turned around, back no longer against his…husband's chest. He didn't gaze into those blue eyes of his, instead direction his attention elsewhere (the ground to be exact). He felt Lockon's hands on his both of his shoulders, and he knew from past events with his parents that it meant something serious was coming his way.

"Setsuna…you are needed because I need you," He started, hands griping the young boy's shoulders a little tighter, "You um…asked me what kind of person I was on the inside a while back, and I can say truthfully that I'm the kind of person who wants and needs someone like you in my life-"

"Why do you want me…?" The youngest asked, eyes still not meeting with the older boy's.

"Because you make me happy-"

"Why? Why do I make you feel happy? Why does someone you don't know make you feel anything?" He somewhat demanded, feeling himself start to lose it once again. Setsuna didn't hear anything for a good few seconds, hoping during that time that he had not just ruined everything. But that was apparently not the case; he heard his…husband begin to speak once more, but he could hear his voice wavering between pure angst to…joy? Lockon spoke about a person who didn't understand the world, who would wake up every morning and wonder 'why?' This person was fake, always lying to the people around him so they wouldn't bother him with anything. They were cruel to their family, taking their frustrations out on one particular member because he wanted them to do something…anything. But their actions could not reach, so the only thing they could do was fall further into hole they were already in.

Setsuna wasn't stupid…he knew the older boy was talking about himself, but what frightened him was how close his story match his own. So he knew what it felt like to not know anything about yourself, to wake up with a feeling you couldn't describe to anyone. So the two did have something in common…As he continued to listen, he could hear the change on the older boy's voice. He talked about the person who had saved the other, making them feel like that actually where 'needed' by someone. They were married to a person they didn't know, but that didn't matter because they had fallen head over heels for them.

So that was the reason he 'loved' him? Because the youngest had saved him from doing something unspeakable, from feeling something that no one his age should? If that was the case, didn't that mean every time he uttered those words it was…genuine? So his…husband really _did_ love him? It wasn't an act? Oh god…and all this time he had been pushing him away, denying the boy's true feelings basically treating them like they were nothing…

Reaching up he wrapped his arms around the older boy's neck, and for the first time he pulled _Lockon Stratos_ into a tight hug. He did need this person…there was no way for him to deny it. His chest was once again tight, but it was not the same tightness he experienced during _that _time. The youngest didn't feel like crying, didn't feel like screaming at the person he was holding. He just…felt like holding him.

"I'm sorry, I made you feel bad again didn't I." Lockon said, rubbing his cheek against the boy's shoulder.

"No, you didn't make me feel bad. I just think I should apologizing for treating you the way I did…" He muttered.

"Huh? Oh that stuff…don't worry about it." His…husband said, hugging him around the waist as he did so.

"B-But-"

"I say this a lot but," The older boy started, reaching up and kissing Setsuna's forehead, "I love you, so I don't care what you do to me."

"…Masochist…"

"W-What? Why does Setsuna-chan know words like that?" Lockon screeched, clearly shocked by what had just come out the younger boy's mouth. He just shook his head for what was probably the fourth time that day and sighed; their moment had gone, the seriousness in the air had thinned to the point of nonexistence. Yeah…their talk was over.

But he had actually gained something from it, and that was more valuable then anything. He found out that he was not the only person who felt the way he did, and that his…husband knew what he was going through. So that meant he understood him, right? Just knowing that made the feeling in his chest increase, but he didn't know what to call it. It was more pressure then pain, and it wasn't forcing him to show some sort of intense emotion he couldn't control. It felt…rather nice compared to the other one, somewhat soothing and warm.

Before he knew it he found himself lying against the couch, Lockon curled up against his chest like a small animal of some kind. The only thing keeping the older boy in his place on the couch (and not on the floor) was his lack of communication, staying ever so silent as he lied there next to him. He didn't really like the whole 'having someone next to you' in such a position, but as long as his…husband kept his mouth shut he didn't mind it. This person was strange…He wouldn't call them mood-swings, but there were definite periods where, if the situation called for it, he would adapt to the mood. If he didn't do that he would change it, just like on the bus when he completely changed the atmosphere within a few minutes. It was apparent that not just anyone could do that, and it only helped that people who knew him were around.

Lockon's friends…were they his friends too? They did hang around him a lot, but that might've just been because he was around the older boy. Even if, they seemed to generally take to him, always wanting to talk to him even if his…husband wasn't in the room (which was rare). So…had he actually moved to the town where people were (and he thought he'd never be saying this) nice to him? And if that was true, didn't that mean he had someone else to turn to when the Dylandy boys weren't around? He couldn't really say for sure since he had not attended school yet, but his answer currently would be…yes. Until that time came could say that all five of them treated him like no other person had, and deep down he…appreciated it.

"Let's stay like this all day, Setsuna-chan."

And he was doing so well…Before another word could come out of the older boy's mouth, he pushed him away, sighing when he heard him make a loud 'thud' against the carpeted floor.

"W-What'd I say?" Lockon asked, rubbing the side of his head a little as he sat up.

"Idiot…" He said simply, seeming uncaring of his…husband's distress.

"You're so cruel, Setsuna-chan." His…husband said, reaching up and wrapping his arms around the younger boy's waist. Before the younger boy could get the comment he wanted out, the bottle of fizzy water was once again dangling in front of his face. Without too much thought he snatched it away, wanting to finish it before it became flat. Pressing the opening to his mouth, he could say that he was officially a sucker for that damn thing. He really did like the way it tasted, being not too sweet but not too carbonated at the same time. The youngest didn't like sweets things all that much, never really having them as part of his daily diet. But…he was in the process of change, and wasn't it alright for people his age to intake just a little ever now and then?

After the entire thing was gone, he couldn't help but notice the amused look on his…husband's face. He hadn't done anything 'humorous', so what was that look for? Looking at the bottle he couldn't see anything wrong with it, so he decided to check and see if the older boy had done something to it. But when the inspection was over he found nothing, not a sign that anything had been placed inside when he was not looking. So what was so funny?

"Setsuna-chan really does love, doesn't he?" Lockon said, the look on his face growing even more amused. Tilting his head to the side, Setsuna asked just what the older boy was talking about. He watched as his…husband reached down and picked up the other bottle that was on the floor, showing it to him. Half of the liquid was gone, and upon noticed it he quickly looked back at the bottle he had just downed. He remembered that the older boy had only taken about two sips of his soda, while on the other hand about half of his had ended up on the ground (thanks to Tieria of course). This meant that…the nearly full bottle of soda he had just chugged was _**not**_ his…

Clapping his hands over his mouth, he now knew exactly what he had just done. The action he'd just committed was considered an intimate one, and it horrified him to no end. He'd just…_indirectly kissed Lockon_. How could he have been tricked so easily? The older boy had used his fondness for the sweet beverage against him, making him perform such a disgraceful act. How could he?

"P-Pervert! Stupid pervert!" He yelled, hands completely removed from his mouth.

"But you still love me!" His…husband said, laughing as he held the boy's waist tighter.

He still couldn't believe he was actually married to someone like him…seriously, **_why him_**?


	6. The Rain Chapter

It's a rather strange thing when one finds out something about themselves they didn't know, and even stranger when that thing just happens to be…a little crush. That was the horror Hallelujah had to deal with, having come upon such a realization about five month ago. It was so unlike him to become attached to anything like that, but somehow he had managed to go so far against what he knew. But really…it was just a crush, right?

Nothing would come of it, because frankly the person he had said crush on was…more then a little difficult to deal with. Alright, he would admit that a little of the attitude problem they had come from his consistent picking, teasing, and at times 'physical' relationship he had with them. But he just couldn't help himself! The 'eldest' Haptism was the kind of person who loved getting reactions out of people, seeing the looks on their faces as he committed such ridiculous actions.

Seriously, Lockon had _nothing_ on him when it came to making people go 'what the hell?' He took pride in knowing he could do such a thing, but there was one person he liked messing with almost to the point of obsession. And that's where the problems started…Whenever he decided to picked someone to continuously mess with it only really lasted a week, but he just couldn't stop himself this particular time. He felt obligated to continue because he _felt_ something every time that person yelled at him, and just basically became physically angry with him.

Hallelujah just thought it would've been nice to see the '_Little China Doll of the Erde Family_' show some kind of emotion. That's what some people called Tieria Erde, and it was quite fitting in his opinion. A year ago the boy showed little to no emotion around people, only really complaining that he 'didn't want a bunch of twins following him around'. Other then that the younger boy didn't do all that much, and because of this he really was a doll in some respects. He'd always ware such beautiful clothes, be it from the ever changing kimono he always wore around his house (he only knew this from spying) or what ever fancy looking outfit his delusional parents bought for him. The Erde family wasn't necessarily _rich_, but they were powerful. It had been rumored that the family had ties to the mafia, but that was too ridiculous for even him to believe.

But then everything changed…Ever since his brother had begun visiting the younger boy everything seemed to stir in a completely different direction, one he thought it would go…and he didn't like it. Now it wasn't because the boy was much more vocal about his harassment, it was the fact that he had taken to his brother to the point of almost being a little accessory. Even if the two weren't in the same level in school, during break they were always seen together, always talking, _always_ enjoying on another's company. Hallelujah was not pleased at this, since he wanted the younger boy's attention for himself and he _really_ didn't feel like sharing.

He wasn't going to say that he didn't get enough attention from his mother, since it was in no way true. That kind of attention was different then the kind he wanted from people he didn't know, and he didn't know just what the other kind was until his birthday arrived that year. That's when he started to notice…

Turning twelve was in no way a big deal to him, but he gladly accepted the gifts from others without a second thought. He and his brother requested that they did not have a party, his reason being that he just flat out hated them, while his 'little' brother's was that he didn't want to make such a big deal out of it. So pure he was…his brother never did anything remotely 'bad' (though the whole 'going to see Tieria every day' did trouble his mother), never did anything that caused people to pre-judge him before he even spoke.

That's what he had to deal with everyday…because of the way he acted Hallelujah was labeled as a 'problem child'. Just because he vandalized something did not make him such a thing, only show that he was creative and was in need of expression. And that's all he saw what he did as…a way to express himself (though him hitting his brother from time to time was just to toughen him up).

He in no way resented his brother for being the 'good twin', but he did pity his oblivious nature when it came to things around him. A perfect example of this would be what happened on their birthday, and Hallelujah could help but laugh as he thought back to those events. Throughout the day people stopped by to give them good wishes and drop off present, and even if he acted like he didn't like it he was rather pleased with it. The 'elder' Haptism didn't really care what people saw him as (as long as it wasn't a 'problem child'…that just annoyed him); as long as he got what he wanted he didn't care, and that day he did not obtain such a thing.

The Dylandy twins were the ones who had brought the Erde boy over, much to disapproval of Hallelujah who knew very well where such a situation was going to go. The younger boy would stick to his brother all day, just like he did the other times. He didn't care about this action usually, but for some reason he couldn't help but notice how Tieria looked that day. He was still wearing his kimono which looked a little flashier then the others did, and it was obvious that he was trying to show off for his brother. His hair was done up in a ponytail that was clipped to the back of his head, the pin that held it in place was that of a jade butterfly and he really couldn't help but be drawn to it. Tieria didn't usually dress in such a manor, and his attention was drawn from the pin in his hair to the younger boy in general. He looked…amazing.

For the remained of the day he couldn't take his eyes off of him, basically ignoring everything that was going on around him. Of course he looked like a girl! But it was that girlish beauty that he was so completely captivated by. But he noticed the way the younger boy acted around his brother; no matter how much he denied it he had absolutely fall for the 'younger' Haptism, and if the constant night visits didn't tell his brother a thing he was much denser then he originally thought. The younger boy let him sleep in his _lap _for goodness sake! How does someone not notice that? But that was Allelujah for you…the good boy wasn't supposed to noticed such things.

After that moment he tried to rationalize how he felt, saying that it was just fuel to mess with the younger boy more. But the more he tried, the more the realization of what he was feeling began to shock him. It was a crush…but because it was a crush he knew it would probably pass. But the more tried to get rid of such a feeling, trying to find someone else to attract his attention…the more he found he couldn't, and it only made the feeling grow. It was then the idea of such a thing being just a 'crush' slowly started to diminish, and he couldn't very well admit to himself that he was actually _**in love**_ with someone. That was so not who he was!

He needed someone to talk to…someone he could just vent to because he sure a hell couldn't keep something like this bottled up. A feeling like this was going to drive him crazy, and if it got too out of hand people were going to notice his behavior change. He was not going to find such a haven in his brother, because if he told him that he had 'more then a little crush' on Tieria Erde it probably would've started a chain of events he couldn't stop. The last thing he wanted to deal with was a depressed twin (seriously, he saw how Lockon use to be and it was not pretty), so he needed to confide in someone else…someone that he was not related to.

And what do you know; he managed to find such a person (or rather _thing_) in the most unlikely of places, and he couldn't believe just who it was. After finding out from his brother that Lockon had indeed told the truth about being married, he couldn't laugh at such a fact. Really? _Him_? _**Married**_? He almost felt sorry for the poor sap that was forced to marry a guy like Lockon, not because he thought the older boy was fit to be anyone's husband, but from the way Allelujah described the kid there was definitely going to be personality clash. Introverted was the word his brother used to describe the boy named Setsuna F Seiei, and seeing as how outgoing the Dylandy boy had become there was going to be some kind of one-sided conflict on Setsuna part. God, he really wanted to witness that…a complete blow up…

Although that whole thing seemed amusing, he had dragged his brother back to their place at his mother's request. The three of them needed to go into town to shop, and he was going to make sure his brother experienced the same hell he did. He absolutely _hated_ shopping with his mother, because she always bought more then they need. If they need just milk they somehow ended up with basket full of next week's dinner, and every time he asked just why she did that he received the same response. 'It was better to think ahead then be behind' was her answer, and he would've rather 'be behind' then lug all of those groceries home.

But he decided to wonder about rather then help, much to the distress of his brother (he didn't show it, but he knew he was thinking it). Hay, Allelujah did say that one time that he liked to cook, so why not buy the things he needed with his mother? Both of them knew how a kitchen worked, unlike the two Dylandy boys who probably would've burned water if given the chance. What was even better was the fact that Tieria knew less then they did…which he thought wasn't possible. For that matter the Erde boy seemed to generally not know just what how to take care of anything, be it cleaning the house or washing dishes. It seemed that not only was he a 'doll' (well not as much as he was before), but he was incapable of taking care of himself. That was probably a byproduct of whatever was going on in that gigantic house of his, and he wondered just what his brother saw over there.

Curiosity never really got the better of him, but there was something about the Erde family that just didn't sit well with him. Just why did they lock their only son away from the world, not teaching him the workings of a house? Did the younger boy even know a thing about the real world? That really made him question what the Tieria was hiding from everyone. The thought that the younger boy was being abused by his family had occurred to him, but he quickly discarded it since he knew people could by that cruel…right?

Since he'd never actually gone, he decided to explore one of the back alleys for the hell of it. Like most of the children in the village, he knew just about ever nook and cranny of the main town. But of course there were places even he hadn't treaded upon, seeing that town _was_ rather large compared to the other one. There were two town total near the village, one north and the other south. The northern town was the bigger one, and it was the one people visited the most often. This wasn't to say that the other town was a backwater hellhole (which it in no way was); people just seemed to gravitate to it more, which was probably due to its lack of collage students.

If the main town was where the high schools were, it made some sense for the collages to be located in the southern town. If they wished the people who had graduated from high school were welcome to attend, but only about half of them actually do. It was the whole 'wanting to see the world' kind of thing, since Hallelujah knew that most of the kid in town had never been to the city before. He could understand…he'd only lived in the village for twelve years, but he did have a little something inside of him that wanted to leave what he knew behind. It was a stupid dream since he didn't even know what kind of person he wanted to be, but it would've been…you know…_nice_ to visit someplace he hadn't. He in no way felt cooped up, wanting to 'spread his wings' to reach new heights.

Oh please…he wasn't that serious about it!

Once he'd reached the very end of the alleyway, he noticed an odd sound coming from one of the trashcans nearby. Now he wasn't the kind of person to believe in ghosts and what not, but he did hesitantly walk over to the strange tin can. Poking it a few time he heard the sound grow loud, and as it did so he tried to figure out what it was. Trashcans were not supposed to make noises; they were not supposed to make any kind of meowing sound as he touched it, and the more he said the word 'meow' that more he thought he sounded ridiculous.

But that's the sound it was making, and when he finally decided to pull the top off he quickly dropped it to and stared in astonishment at the sight before him. Inside the tin can was a blue plastic bag that looked to be moving, and as he touched his hand against it he found that whatever was inside was slightly cold. Ripping the bag open he nearly jumped back in surprise, wanting to run and forget about what had had just seen. How something like this could happen was beyond him, but the sound from the can was definitely come from said bag. It was just…inhumane…and he might've liked troubled but this was just wrong.

It was a _litter of kittens_…It looked like there were probably four or five completely white kittens inside, and he could feel the color drain from his face as the realization of what he was looking at began to hit him. Hesitantly…_very_ hesitantly he reached in and touched one, wanting to see if they were actually real. His hand was quickly pulled back when the stiff coldness came in contact his skin, making him back up a little. Who would do such a thing…? It made him sick to his stomach to think that someone could abandon life that that, throwing it away like…trash. But hadn't he heard some kind of sound coming from the bag? Even though he didn't want to, he looked back over into the can and waited.

Making a little sound he heard a loud 'meowing' as a response, and it was then that he mustered up enough courage to actually touch the bag again. Picking it up he quickly dashed out of the alleyway, knowing that he couldn't just ignore such a problem. Hallelujah knew that with a situation this serious he couldn't turn to his mother for help, the suspicion that he had actually done the act was always one outcome. So he decided to run over to flower shop nearby, since he knew the person in charge and knew they probably wouldn't judge him (hopefully). Something like this…he didn't want fingers to be pointed at him. That would've been too much…he wasn't a cruel person, nor was he one to accept being labeled as one. That was where he officially drew the line…

Flinging the door open he began to yell for help, hoping the blonde that was usually there wasn't slacking off. He knew Graham Aker was aquatinted with just about everyone in the village, seeing that everyone at one point of another had visited his shop. Valentines Day, birthdays, anniversaries, 'just because', Mother's Day, all were reasons to purchase flowers and of course everyone knew where to go. No one knew just what the boy did to the greenery to make the place so popular, but it probably had something to do with the way the blonde boy knew exactly what someone wanted before anyone ever walked in the door.

The older boy had told him that if given the day, the person, and occasion it was rather easy for him pick the right arrangement of flowers for them. Graham said he knew it was odd for someone like him to have such knowledge, but it was the only thing he could do to 'calm himself down'. When asked what that meant he was told that he'd 'have to wait till later' for him to understand, since the meaning was a complicated one. Of course he pestered the boy to no end about it, but he never budged in the slightest.

But that was rather irrelevant…Once the blonde boy had finally emerged from the back room, he pleaded from his help even if he didn't know what he could do. Showing him the bag, he saw Graham's eyes widen for a split second, the older boy asking where he had found it. He answered truthfully, adding that he thought a few of them might've been alive and he needed help picking them out. After a few silent seconds, the bag was taken away and he quickly followed the boy to the back of the didn't know what the hell he was doing, nor did he know if he'd done the right thing. What if none of the small bundles of fur were alive? Had he just wasted his time? He wouldn't know unless he tried…

The bag was placed on a small table, and he wasn't sure if he could stand the sight of the older boy looking through it. After hearing the sound of 'meowing' once again, he began to think that it was merely the sound of them suffocating and that it was far too late for them. He didn't like the helpless feeling that had taken him over…like he could only watch and wait. When he saw one of them placed on the table he couldn't help but hold his breath, wondering if this had been the lucky one. Having gotten a better look at it, the fur ball really didn't look all that small. It was indeed a kitten, but from the looks of it the feline couldn't have been more then a few months old. Why would someone just throw them away?

Upon hearing it begin to whine he let out a sigh of relief; so he hadn't wasted his time doing something, well, nice. Looking over at the older he asked if the others were okay, but the only thing he received was a small head shake which made his heart sink a little more then it already had. He was not coldhearted (how else would he be able to have a 'more then a crush' if it was?), and this did hurt him. But he didn't outwardly show it, only taking the bag and head for the backdoor of the shop, grabbing one of the small shovels as he did so.

Even at twelve he knew the world wasn't perfect, knew that horrible things happened that couldn't be stopped. Just like the kittens in the bag…things occurred around him all the time, and there were more awful things out there then what he had witnessed. It was such a twisted place…but the lest thing he could do was give the abandoned kittens a proper burial. Hallelujah understood the concept of death very well, and he knew that what was lost could not be gotten back. Even if you pleaded and begged life just couldn't come back…he'd learned that much when his father passed.

As he began to dig he began to vaguely think about that day. Even though he and his brother were only five, he still remembered his mother crying hysterically on the couch, saying that she 'should've done better'. Honestly, they didn't know the man that well so at the time they didn't understand what was going on, or what she meant by that. The man was always away on business trips, leaving them behind to basically fend for themselves.

He didn't even remember his face, though he had been told by numerous people that he and his brother were spitting images of him. He didn't hate the man…no, he wouldn't call it that…he couldn't very well hate someone who was just trying to provide for his family. But…his mother would always work so hard whenever he was gone, taking care of the house, them, and just about everything. His mother had married young and her parents in no way approved of it, basically disowning her and cutting off all contact. He once asked if she cared about that…she said she didn't. The only she cared about was pleasing her husband and taking care of her children…but yet the man she loved was never around.

It wasn't until the funeral that the gravity of what was going on around them began to set in; their father, a man they'd only seen a few times during their life, was gone. Of course it hurt, a feeling beyond description over taking them like some kind of sickness. Even if he didn't know the man he was still his _father_. Any and all ill feelings he had against the man he gone out the window, forgotten as they mourned the man who had 'taken care of them'.

But that was in past…and the 'eldest' Haptism knew when to leave things in the behind and move on. Once he had finally buried all of the dead kittens, he was asked if he could take care of the living one. With a quick look over his shoulder at the blonde he answered, finding it rather bittersweet. Though he had rescued the poor thing he couldn't keep it, knowing that his mother was horribly allergic to animals…but he lied anyway. He knew his mother wouldn't be done with her shopping until much later, so he picked the kitten up and left, muttering a small thanks to Graham as he walked out the door. He was given a little pocket money from his mother that was supposed to be used on sweets, but he had other plans…

The basic needs for an animal were simple, just food, water, and a roof over its head. How hard was that? Running to the convenient store, he immediately ran over to the pet food area, ignoring the owners protest about bringing an animal inside. He didn't know which brand was better then the other, so he just picked up the cheapest bag he could find. It was obvious the thing needed food right away, having been bagged and discarded why wouldn't it be starving? Shaking the thought of what could've happened to the kitten off, he pick up a small bowl and added it to the list of 'things he needed'.

Since he knew he'd probably be buying more then just that, he placed the small animal against his chest and held it in place by zipping up the jacket he was wearing (sleeveless of course). He didn't zip it up completely, allowing for its head to stick out of the knew it looked ridiculous (not to mention it felt weird), but he needed both hands to carry everything he needed. Quickly walking over to the beverage case, he opened the glass door and pulled down a large bottle of water. He once again paid no mind to the brand, just grabbing whichever bottle was the cheapest. Come on, he was working on a budget! Cut him some slack!

After everything was gathered he went up to the counter and paid, asking if they had any large boxes the store was going to throw away. The owner looked at him for a moment, clearly confused with what the boy had just asked (even though it wasn't all that confusing). When he asked again, adding a little more volume to his voice, the person disappeared into the back room. Now the 'elder' Haptism was hoping that the person wasn't calling the authorities, since his request was in no way a difficult or threatening. But…what if they did? What if they called the cops and the kitten was taken away? What if- whoa…he _really_ needed to calm down.

Of course he wasn't going to jail! The owner came back with a large cardboard box, inquiring if he was going to build some kind of fort. He just shook his head and took the box, quickly leaving since he knew that his live cargo was still probably starving. The bus stop wasn't too far away, and he knew that if he was quick enough he could get himself out of town and back before his mother began to wonder just where he had gone. He had no intentions of hiding the kitten in his house, because other then it being a stupid idea he was guaranteed to get caught. But he did know where he could place the little guy (or maybe it was a girl…), though he had to be careful not to be found out by anyone…which would be easy, right? If he left it in the forest on one would find it, right?

But yet it still happened…

"Oi! Oi! I told you not to hold him like that!" Hallelujah said, not liking how his kitten was being held. It probably wasn't the best idea to make a home for the feline in the forest, but it was the only place he could go without looking too suspicious.

That day he quickly set up a makeshift house for it, flipping the cardboard box over so that the opening was faceing down. He cut out a little 'door' so to speak on the side so it could access the inside. Of course he wouldn't let the poor thing sleep on the ground, so he took the jacket he was weaning off and placed it inside as a means of insulation. He knew the summer days could keep the kitten warm, but he was more concerned about the days where it rained. The 'elder' Haptism knew cat's hated water, and the last thing he wanted was to visit a waterlogged kitten.

And that's what he basically did for a past couple of weeks…He would come and give it whatever it needed, be it food, water, the occasional toy, or a house patch up. It would've seemed rather odd if he spent all of his allowance on things he never brought home, so he asked none other then Graham for help. The older boy was a little upset that he had lied to him, but he was quickly forgiven once the fact that he _was_ taking care of the kitten was put into play. The much older boy agreed to buy the kitten food, allowing the 'elder' Haptism to use his money on whatever he needed to make it look like nothing was going on. But there was a catch…Graham told him that in the future the younger boy needed to pay him didn't think much of what the blonde boy had said, so he agreed without a second thought.

"Sorry…" Setsuna muttered, now holding the feline as if it were a small child. This was not foreseen in his plan…_no one _was supposed to know that he was taking care of something that was considered small, fluffy, and…cute. But that was the surprise he found the day after everyone had gone into town. He left the house a little later then he wanted to, having to do chores that he had neglected to do earlier that week. It wasn't like he wanted to forget about them…he just had better things to do. It probably because of his lateness that he came upon a sight that actually made him gasp out loud…He didn't know how, but someone both Setsuna _and_ Lockon had found the kitten, playing with it like there was nothing wrong.

He was not pleased to say the least, but the more he tried the tell them to leave the more they just seemed to come by. It was like this for about three days, and somehow they two had decided to invite the other Dylandy along. Great, now he had three people to worry about!

The kitten was something he could talk to…someone he could vent to because he didn't feel like talking to a human. He'd already told the thing so much…how he actually missed the man known as his father, the 'more then a little crush' on he had on Tieria Erde, and surprisingly how he hated it when his mother would drink sometimes, getting completely wasted on the couch while muttering that she 'still loved him'. He didn't like being around her when she was like that…it was a part of his mother he would tell no one but the small kitten about.

She really did miss their father…and it didn't help that both his brother and he looked like him. Because of this he would sometime catch her while in her drunken state looking at either of them, as if plotting something she really shouldn't be. He wasn't a stupid child…he knew as they became older the resemblance to the deceased man would only grow, leading both of them to be in a situation that was not desired. Hallelujah loved his mother, that was an undeniable fact, but he would leave her when the time was right for his and his 'younger' brother's sake…no matter how much it hurt.

"Setsuna-chan, you should hold it like I hold you." Lockon said, sitting in his usual position behind the younger boy. How odd…the 'tension' he saw in the beginning on the younger boy's side had diminished slightly, Hallelujah now noticed that he was much more…he wouldn't necessarily call it more 'comfortable' around his husband. What a bummer…the chance of a blow up was still there but it had now lessened, making the 'elder' Haptism question if it was possible to actually start a conflict between them. It wasn't a very nice thing for him to do, but he was seriously getting bored watching the three of them enjoy the company of _his_ kitten. The damn thing had taken to them almost instantly, and that irritated him to no end…

"Like this…?" The youngest said, mimicking the action his…husband usually performed on him with the cat.

"Yeah! Setsuna-chan looks so cute holding him." The Dylandy boy said, holding Setsuna tighter. God, did he ever stop? Granted the older boy had done a complete one-eighty once his wife arrived in town, but seeing him act like a complete idiot was getting old fast. Lockon was happy…happy to the point where it was making him sick to his stomach. Was this what love did to someone? Turn them into an idiotic mess of a person? If that's what love did to people he was in serious danger…

He really did feel…_something_ for Tieria Erde, but if it was going to cost him who he was he needed to rethink things. Hallelujah didn't want to lose himself in order to gain himself a 'boyfriend'; he just wasn't that kind of person, because he wasn't going to give up who he was to please someone else. It was the only thing the 'elder' Haptism owned that was different from his brother, the only thing that set him apart. He took pride in knowing that he was not the mirror image of his brother, though he knew that some people disagreed with him. Since he was a twin some people expected him to act a certain way, but he defied their logic without much thought. This was who he was, this was the person he wanted to be for the rest of his life if possible, but he would not let his personality become a sacrifice for his 'love'.

"Oi Lyle, he looks cute, right?" Lockon asked, tugging on his brother's sleeve.

"Y-Yeah…r-really cute, Nii-san." He replied, not looking over at the boy, a heavy blush on his face. He was the worst offender…Hallelujah knew Lyle had fallen for the younger boy (a fact made painfully obvious when he kissed him the other day), but it was also rather clear that other Dylandy was probably holding himself back. Lockon was open about his affections (too open), so much so that it could be argued that he was smothering the younger boy…Lyle on the other hand probably only showed his devotion when no one was looking (excluding that one time of course), and the mere thought of him showing such emotions in public probably embarrassed the older boy to no end. It was one thing for the 'elder' Haptism to get irritated at Lockon for being too clingy, but it was another thing for him to be irritated at Lyle for _not doing anything_.

"Oi…Lyle…," Hallelujah started, attention directed towards the sky, "Ever make-out with Setsuna when Lockon wasn't looking?"

"W-What kind of question is that?" Lyle chocked out, the blush that was currently on his face only growing.

"He has." Answered both Setsuna and Lockon with a sigh, taking the issue somewhat lightly.

"Nii-san, how do you know? And why aren't you mad?" The other Dylandy asked, back up a little just incase he was going to be assaulted in some form.

"Well, the way I see it…if I let you kiss him for time to time, _not often_, I won't get as mad." He said in a matter-of-factly tone. To this Hallelujah had to laugh hard; what kind of logic was that? If the younger boy was his wife, why would he let someone else kiss him? Ah the 'Lockon Logic', it wasn't to be questioned by those who knew he was talking nonsense. The 'elder' Haptism laughed harder upon heading Lyle ask if it was 'alright for him to kiss him now', and if anyone couldn't keep a straight face at that they were insane. But that's how the world worked strangely enough, people would think he had a few screws loose but in reality they were the crazy ones.

As he lied on the ground, trying his best to control himself, he noticed the kitten jump of Setsuna's arms and walk over to him. He couldn't blame the thing, not wanting to be in-between two people who were now _kissing_. Yeah…that was the life he loved. The sheer random, spur-of-the-moment events that one just couldn't predict were what made his life a happy one. Though…he still felt like he was missing something…it wasn't major, but he could still feel it. Maybe…it was the longing he had for a certain young Erde boy that was causing such a feeling…

Nah, he didn't like him _that _much…right?

* * *

"SETSUNA!"

That was the only thing he could shout as the horrible scene played out in font of him. Why he had agreed to come in the middle of such a day was beyond him. Why he had allowed such a thing to have taken place was entirely his fault, and there was no way for him to deny it. He would take the blame for this, no matter how much it hurt…that's what he had told him himself when had the chance to stop everything. But he needed it to happen…because of that look in his wife's eyes there was no way he could say no to him…

That week had not started out well…and that was probably what should've told him that something ominous was brewing. For some reason he just didn't have the energy to get out of bed that day, which probably had something to do with the heavy rain that was falling outside of his window. The day after he had told Lyle that it was alright for him to kiss the youngest, stressing the 'not often' part, it had began to rain a great deal. Neil didn't like the rain…for unknown reasons it always made him so sluggish, the motivation to do anything completely gone.

However, this wasn't a completely bad thing since he had managed to get his cute wife into bed with him…obviously not without some resistance on Setsuna's part. The first day was probably the worst, just because he didn't have the mindset that his wife _might not actually want to get into bed with him_. After he woken up he found that the youngest was already in his room, sitting in the corner denying that he had been watching him sleep. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of his lovely wife caring about him like that, and he knew if the words 'lovely wife' ever came out of his mouth he'd probably be in for it. Neil knew the boy still had boundaries, but he had broken through just a little on the day he dubbed _'The Ramune Incident'_.

He couldn't help but pull such a little stunt on the younger boy, wanting to see the expression on Setsuna's face once he'd figured it out. It was probably the closest he would actually get to his wife kissing him, since it was obvious that it wasn't going to happen any time soon. But who would've thought…the person who soured so easily had fallen in love with such a sweet drink. That made him just a little envious of it…just a little. He really did want Setsuna to fall in love with him, wanting to see him…well, basically act like Lyle. Neil wanted to see his wife blush every time he was near, getting so completely love-struck that he just couldn't function correctly. It sounded corny, but since he had fallen so hard for him it was understandable that he wanted his feeling to be returned one day (but it probably wouldn't be to that degree).

Sitting up he questioned just how long his wife had been sitting there, to which the younger boy replied two hours. _Two hours_? Looking over at the clock next to him, Neil found that he had indeed over slept passed his usual time. That wasn't like him…it didn't matter what time he fell asleep at night, he always woke up around the same time. Upon looking out the window he received his answer…rain. Sighing a little he apologized for making him wait so long, not intending to do such a thing. Setsuna didn't say a word, but Neil did notice his eyes look over at him for a few seconds before darting back down to the ground. The youngest never look him in eye, or anyone for that matter. That probably meant he was the kind of person who did not trust people that easily, and that did hurt him to know slightly.

Someone his age just didn't shy away from people for no reason, so something must've happened in his past that caused him to be the way he is. Someone had…_hurt_ him to the point where he couldn't really be honest with others. What could've happened? The thought that Setsuna was _completely_ emotionless before coming to the village had crossed his mind, and that almost prompted him to ask his wife a few questions. However, bombarding him with questions wasn't going to make the younger boy open up to him, so he decided against it wanting to wait. Just like before he'd wait for the younger boy to open up, allowing him the time he needed to muster up enough courage to come to him like he had on _'The Ramune Incident'_.

Not having too much energy, he decided to lie back on his futon, cursing the rain outside his window for making him feel so sluggish. After a few minutes he felt a hand place itself in his stomach, shaking him in a not-so-gentle way because someone wanted his attention. Neil knew who it was and he wasn't going to let his uncooperative body mess up his time with his wife…even if it did hurt to move sometimes. Propping himself up on his elbow, he was questioned just why he was still in bed around this hour. He apologized again to the younger boy, adding that whenever the weather became like it was he just couldn't function right. He saw his wife tilt his head to the said, asking him he was sickness or something of that nature.

He just couldn't pass up such an opportunity…Pulling the younger boy into a hug, he asked if he'd be taken care of if he was sick. He loved that…that oh so confused look Setsuna would give him from time to time. He was fully aware that he was indeed 'confusing' to him, since the younger boy probably had never dealt with someone with his kind of personality. That was understandable…his wife did seem like he was sheltered, completely blind to the world around him. It was most likely voluntary since he'd sometimes see the worried look on his mother's face as she dropped him off, as if silently asking him to change her son slightly. He would…since it was not only his duty as a husband to make his wife better, but he felt the obligated to save the boy since he had done the same for him.

Of course the younger boy pushed him away, saying that he was not a doctor so he couldn't do such a thing. Neil just laughed a little and then asked if he'd rather take a nap with him instead, to which Setsuna replied with a quick and firm 'no'. He just pulled his wife back into a tight embrace, saying that nothing would happen to him if both of them were asleep. You know, he wasn't going to feel him up…that just wasn't the kind of person he was. That might not have been the best thing he could've added, since the younger boy called him a pervert and began to leave. Quickly grabbing his wrist he pleaded to his wife that he was just joking around, and that he _never_ think about doing anything like that to him. The younger just stared at him for a few seconds, and then directed his attention over to a nearby wall…so he still wouldn't look at him.

Maybe what he did next was a stupid move, he knew this even before it happened, but still went along with it anyway. There wasn't any sort of build, he just pulled the younger boy down against his futon and kissed him. The position was questionable but it really didn't matter; he liked being so close to the younger boy, that being one reason he wanted his wife next to him as he slept. Setsuna was his wife…and he knew that people who were married slept together (a fact made clear since his parents did), so why shouldn't they? Granted the two of them were a little young, and when the words 'sleep together' came up it meant _other_ things. His intentions were without a doubt pure, never having once thought about him and his wife in _that_ sort of situation.

Upon parting he was slapped then violently pushed away by the younger boy, him adding that 'he hated him', 'that he was a pervert' and that 'Tieria was right about him' as he stormed out of the room. He seemed angry obviously, but it wasn't the kind of anger one probably would assume he had if they were in his situation. Setsuna was just being defensive; the action itself had probably startled him, since it was the first time he'd ever kissed him while he was lying down. So the only thing he could do was wait until till it was over, and once it was he would act according to how he _should_ act. The younger boy probably didn't know what he wanted…didn't know if he liked or disliked what was happening to him, but he did know that any normal person would've reacted the same way he had.

He had to wonder…what kind of person was Setsuna F Seiei on the inside? The younger boy had asked him such a question, but yet he himself had not answered his own question. He said he didn't know who he was…that the older boy shouldn't love him because he just didn't know. It was even more reason to fall harder for the boy in his opinion, only fueling his desire to pull him out of the hole he was in. He did love him…and he would do everything in his power to make him feel better.

For the rest of the day his wife stayed away from him, his brother coming in once he had gone home saying that the younger thought he was 'sick in the head'. He just couldn't help himself sometimes…and seeing the youngest react the way he did was worth the slap he received. Neil was rather pleased whenever his wife would cause him physical harm, and it was NOT because he was a masochist. Setsuna acted like such a cruel person when he was around, calling him names and harming him…but at lest he was showing him that he was capable of expressing himself. He knew the younger boy didn't mean any of it, and he wouldn't stop him until he really started to show his true colors. What would that be like…seeing the real Setsuna for the first time…?

The next day was much better, but he did wake up around the same time. On top of that the younger boy had relocated to the corner closest to his bed, which wasn't a bad thing in the slightest. Instead of sitting up he just turned over on his stomach, crossing his arms and resting his chin against the one on top. He tried to start up a conversation, asking if there was any place he wanted to go after it had stopped raining. As expected he only received a small shrug every few questions, and if he was lucky he heard a little 'I guess' or 'don't know' directed at him. At lest he was talking to him, but it wasn't enough for still exhausted mind so it decided to make him ask if the boy was 'upset about what happened yesterday'. That earned him more then just a little reaction, making his wife give off a little noise before covering his mouth with his hand.

Neil started to apologize, but stopped when his wife quickly stood and crossed the distance between them. He sat in front of him, telling him that he didn't want to hear him ask for forgiveness for something like that. He continued on saying that one should only say those words if something major happens, but when asked if what happened on the bus was a perfect example he stayed quiet. Since Setsuna was sitting on his knees, he couldn't help but take advantage of his position, gently lifting himself up and placing his head against the younger boy's lap. It was reasonable to assume he would tense at such an action, which is what he did, but when he was not shoved off the instant his head touched his legs he knew he had done something right.

So the younger boy wasn't in bed with him, but it was a start wasn't it? Looking up, he could see that Setsuna was trying his act as if he didn't care what was going on. His attention was focused to the right side of him, eyes never meeting Neil's face. He wasn't going to test the boy, wanting to reach up and bring that focus over to him, but decided against it since it was probably going to mess up the atmosphere. Since that was out of the question, he decided to strike up another conversation even if his wife didn't seem like he was in the talkative mood. That too was understandable…seemingly the only time he wanted to talk is if it was something serious. During those times there was a connection between the two of them, like everything prior to that moment didn't really matter, and the two of them right at that moment knew that it was alright to open up to the other (another corny statement he knew).

However, Neil wanted that connection to be there without them having to stop by some isolated area; he knew that hideaway was going to play a somewhat important role in their lives, but as of now he wanted his wife to open up to him without having to visit such a place. He wanted to see it happen outside the world of fours walls, when people were around and not at the crack of dawn. Setsuna was probably working on that internally along with a few other things, and he couldn't help but smile at that.

As he pushed on with the non existent conversation, he found himself stopping halfway when he asked 'what he thought school was going to be like for him'. It was a simple enough question since the end of August would be the younger boy's first school experience in the village, but the way he tensed up much more then before told him that he had just said something wrong. Even if he did not look at him directly he could see the look of sheer horror on his wife's face, which forced him to sit up and ask if he had said something to upset him. Silence…Neil felt a knot forming in his stomach; reaching over he gently pulling his wife into a tight embrace, wondering if he had somehow brought up bad memories from the past.

It would be his second attempt at getting the younger boy into bed with him, and he made sure to hold off the on the kissing. The younger boy still wasn't moving, and as he tightened his hold on him he only stiffened more. Jumping to conclusions wasn't really like him (well…that wasn't a complete lie), but it was clear that he might've just pinpointed one origin of the younger boy's angst. He didn't know what schools in the city where like or what they were like in the States, but he could say for sure that he didn't like them. Neil knew that school could be annoying sometimes, but it shouldn't have caused such anxiety in one person's life. On that note maybe it wasn't the school itself…maybe it was the kids. Setsuna seemed like a pretty normal person (minus the mental anguish of course), so he didn't see any reason for _**anybody**_ to pick on him to the point of shutting down.

He didn't bring up his suspicions, only rubbing the younger boy's back and telling him that everything was going to be okay. It wasn't long before he could feel the stiffness in his wife start to lessen, not completely leaving his body but enough to where he felt the same as when he placed his head in his wife's lap. His senses, having been dulled by his firmness, had come back to him so the younger boy once again pushed him away and sat up. He called him a pervert once more, but this time he did not leave or slap him rather hard (seriously, he still felt the other one five minutes after the fact).

Mimicking his position the older rested his head against his wife's shoulder, joking that the younger boy loved being close to him but just wouldn't admit it. Setsuna just crossed his arms and made a low growling sound, expressing his clear dislike for what had been said. How cute…he still had such a shield up, but Neil could already see the cracks in it. It would come down one day and he'd be waiting to see, waiting to 'catch him as he fell' if you will. It was a hard thing to let people in when you weren't use to it, so to make sure he didn't lose his way he'd show the youngest that his efforts were not wasted.

The rest of the day went on pretty smoothly; he managed to get out of bed, but only made it as far as the kitchen. That wasn't a terrible thing since he got to observer his wife cooking, and in doing so noticed how natural it seemed to him. Neil was a horrible, _horrible_, _**horrible**_ cook and he knew it. So he was guilty of wanting to impress Setsuna that one time with skills he didn't posses, but you couldn't really blame him from trying it anyway. But it was indeed a nice sight to see someone else cook besides his mother, even if that person just happens to need a stepping stool to do so (he would admit that the youngest was a little short for his age). He would never tell his mother, but he thought dishes the younger boy made were…actually better then hers. Maybe it was just because the youngest was his wife, he didn't know.

When it was time for him to go, his mother once again posed the question if he 'wanted to stay for dinner'. This time he noticed Setsuna pause for a moment, as if actually contemplating his answer. Of course he still refused, but it was rather pleasant to see him at lest _thinking_ about spending time with him _willingly_. Once he had gone, he asked his mother if it was possible for the two of them to move in together. She replied that something like that couldn't happen until much later, probably when he was in his late teens at lest. Now he was a patient person, but he couldn't help but groan a little at that. Late teens? That seemed so far off…but if it meant he would live under the same roof as his wife he would sit and wait.

However…the events that transpired the next day made him believe that he and Setsuna had no future together. The moment he awoke that morning he found himself having a sickly feeling, like his body was telling him that something was going to happen that day. But he chose to ignore it, since it was apparent that he needed to get up and do something…despite the rain. Looking over he found his wife not in any corner of his like he thought he'd be, but asleep on the floor next to his futon. Why didn't he just get in? So defensive was what he thought as he slid out from under the thin blanket, kneeling down beside him and pick him up. He was rather light which was mostly due to his age, and he could only sigh as he placed him in his bed. It was the first time he'd see the boy asleep, and it was probably the first time he actually seen him at peace.

It was a heartbreaking thing to know that the only time the younger boy looked so tranquil was as he slept, which meant Neil had a little more work ahead of him. He was, however, fairly surprised to find that he had for once woken up an hour a head of his usual schedule. The older boy wondered why his wife had come over so early, and for that matter just _how_ early he had arrived. Getting up from his spot on the ground, he left his room and walk across the hall to his brother's.

The two of them at one point shared the same room, but as they became older space started to become an issue. The two of them liked move around in their sleep (a habit now broken), and weren't particularly pleased when one would wake and find their brother a little_ too_ close. The solution was simple: move across the hall.

Upon opening the door, he found his brother rummaging through his closest, as if looking for something. When he asked just what, he said a flashlight. Lyle added that Hallelujah had called fifteen minutes ago saying that the area where Neko (the kitten) had flooded, and that he needed their help looking for him. That was new…the 'elder' Haptism asking for help was serious matter and should be taken as such, so instead of questioning his brother he decided to help him. Even though it was fairly early the morning it was still dark outside, all thanks to the clouds that hindered the sun's rays from reaching them. It looked so gloomy outside…Neil would've never thought about stepping out into such a place, but since he was asked to by a friend in need he really couldn't refuse.

Just as they found the small device the youngest walked into the room yawning a little, asking just why the two of them were making so much noise. He told him to go back to bed if he was still tired, but his wife just shook his head. He'd been asleep since he'd arrived there around six, he told him, and he felt that he would've 'slept the day away' if he went back to sleep. How observant the older boy was…in the past he would hear Setsuna muttering that he'd 'rather be asleep' then deal with him, but now it would seem his attitude had changed slightly (something the youngest probably thought wasn't noticeable). His wife really was trying to warm up to him, but he was probably doing it unconsciously.

Lyle asked the younger boy if he wanted to come with them, to which Neil strongly advised against it. When there was a small flood somewhere in the forest it was dangerous, and he didn't want anything to happen to Setsuna. The last thing he wanted was to lose the one thing that made him happy…because there was going to be another tragedy if that happened. But the youngest just replied that he didn't care either way, wanting to go outside even if was or was not raining. Maybe he was just being rebellious because he could…nah, maybe he had a reason (maybe).

Putting their marriage aside, he and his brother were the ruling authority when their mother was absent from the house (which she was…away on early errands his brother told him). Although that may have been true, it seemed that the younger boy was not aware or just did not care about their positions. It wasn't that big of deal, but this particular time he really didn't want him to…

He pleaded for the younger boy to stay home while they left; he explained to him that going outside wasn't really the best of ideas for him, noting the obvious look of confusion on his wife's face. Why was it alright for him to go out, but he had to stay in? That was the question asked to him by the youngest, and he really couldn't find any other way to explain himself. His wife wanted something deeper, he aware of this, but he just couldn't think of what to say to persuade him to think otherwise.

But he lost the battle fairly quickly, knowing from the start that he didn't stand a chance. He escorted him back to his room, walking over to his closet once inside. If the younger boy was going outside he needed the right protection, so he sifted through the many clothes he owned to find some kind of jacket or raincoat that could not fit him. Growth spurts were a terrible, horrible things…every time he had one he'd lose a set of clothes and his mother would have to buy him new ones. On top of the ever changing wardrobe, there was the god-awful pain that came with it.

Randomly throughout the night he would have joint pains that just wouldn't go away, becoming so bad that sometimes he couldn't sleep until it was practically morning. It was a fact of growing up that he didn't like so much, wanting it to end as quickly as possible. But he knew that, just like with Setsuna, he couldn't rush such a thing…no matter how much pain it put him through. Once he'd finally pulled out something that looked as if it would fit the youngest, he began to look for clothes he himself could change into to. He hadn't had to time change into anything clean since the day it he allowed Lyle to kiss his wife, and that had been far too many days gone without fresh clothes (he mother would've probably killed him if she found out about his neglect). So he made a little pile and asked politely for Setsuna to leave the room.

When he apparently didn't understand why he was kicking him out, Neil just started to take his shirt off, knowing that it would get his point across. Before article of clothing was even half way up he saw the younger boy bolt out the door, finally catching the meaning of the words 'I need you to leave'. Such an innocent child he was…it was amusing to see him try to act like he was already an adult, but practically freak out at something as small as another boy taking off his shirt.

It didn't take long for him to change, about five minutes and as he left his room he as both his brother and Setsuna waiting outside his door. That completely embarrassed look on his wife's face almost made him want to apologize for being so forward, but he remembered that he wasn't supposed to do such a thing unless it was serious matter. The younger boy wouldn't even look at him as they made their way downstairs, not saying a word as he slipped on his shoes and the jacket he was given. It did look a little big on him, but it did fit none the less. At first the older boy thought his wife would've been absolutely against wearing anything that had touched his body, but it would seem that he comprehend that this was not a time to complain.

There was an air of uneasiness surrounding them as they left the house, each of them neither looking nor speaking to the person beside them. It was a peculiar feeling, and in Neil's case he could only tense as he remembered that his wife was right next to him. The older boy didn't know what was in store for him, what kind events were about to play out before them. The slight excitement of the unknown did start to get to him, but it was quickly pushed aside when he reminded himself that it was raining, it was hot, and that if the area they were going was flooded that anything could happen if someone slipped up.

Hallelujah was a friend, but Hallelujah was also known to be an incredible jerk sometimes. If he was about to lead them on some kind of wild goose chase for his own amusement…he'd have to ask Lyle to take the youngest far, far away from the area. But he knew his brother usually picked on such behavior (something the two of them had in common), the normal reaction being to hang up and forget about whatever the 'elder' Haptism said. That didn't seem to be the case, since the three of them were heading out into the forest in the pouring rain. They walked swiftly into the forest, minding the damp ground as they made their way in.

The soil was soft, muddy and so water saturated to the point where walking seemed to become a little more difficult. He caught the younger boy two times as he slipped, his mind telling him that he should not have let him come along. None of them should have set out foot outside of their homes, this environment was not the one they were use to nor was it in any way safe. Neil hoped that they found the kitten rather quickly, wanting to get both his brother and his wife out of the rain as quickly as possible. Even though Setsuna had denied it, the older boy's duty as a caretaker would kick in the moment the moment the younger showed signs of sickness.

He knew how to take care of another in said fashion, having done so for his brother on a few occasions. If that ever happened he would be right there by his side, cold compress in hand. But first they needed to find the 'elder' Haptism in the very different looking forest. Without much light the enclosed area looked unusual to say the lest, and navigating was clearly much more laboring then pervious visits.

There was, however, one saving grace; through the darkness they could see the frantic looking brightness from a flashlight in the distance, which was without a doubt Hallelujah's. Calling out to the second oldest they watched as the light stopped, the rays completely halting their wild behavior and were now directed at them. Neil moved their flashlight a little, signaling that they knew the 'elder' Haptism was there and that they had finally come. The sound of feet swiftly running towards them could be heard, and the oldest couldn't help but feel the atmosphere around them thicken. They were only halfway through, Neil thought, knowing that there was much more to come…and just how much that would actually be would be determined by the second oldest.

There were two things Hallelujah could've told them: one would be that he had found the kitten already, saving them the trouble of looking for it, or two, he would tell them that he had not found it and thus would ensue 'the hunt'. The second option was risky, since just the three of them getting there had been quite the slippery ordeal (literally and figuratively). To scurry around said place in such weather for too long was going to cause some kind of harm, so Neil could only hope that it was the first option.

And it was…

Panting a little, the 'elder' Haptism told them that he had indeed located Neko, but there was a problem. Instead of telling them he ran off in the direction from where he came, making the three of them follow him close behind. Problem? That wasn't a good thing…one problem led to another one, and then another, and then another. Problems were what made situations take a turn for the worst.

But they still followed him, the uneasy feeling in the older boy's stomach only growing worse. He couldn't ignore the feeling any longer, knowing that it contributed to the situation somehow. Neil found himself looking over at his wife from time to time, wondering just what he saw in the younger boy's face to make him give up so quickly. He could've told him something a long the lines of 'if you don't stay you'll be punished by your mother', he could've been a little more forceful by locking him in his room, but he hadn't done any of that…he just put up a half-baked explanation he knew would fail.

When the four of them finally stopped, Hallelujah shined his light upwards. Neil could've sworn his heart stopped, witnessing the pure white feline hanging on to the branch of the tree next to them. It was up there? How the hell were they doing to get it? The whole thing was only made worse by the fact that said branch was hanging over the _flooded stream_. One wrong move and that kitten would be easily swept away by the current…and the person who was supposed to go up and get it.

Hallelujah admitted that he had already tried to climb up, but his weight had almost caused the branch to break. He noticed his brother look over at him, and he did the same. Neil knew that there was no way the two of them could even attempt to scale the tree, knowing that since both of them were taller they without a doubt weighed more. There was third option, one that could've very well ended everything…but the oldest would not allow it to play out. He wasn't going to place Setsuna in anymore danger, but before he could even get the rest of his thought out the younger boy had already started climbing.

What was he thinking? Without missing a beat he reached over and pulled him down, telling him that he would get himself hurt once he'd reached the branch. He couldn't do this; he wouldn't let him be so reckless, and maybe there was a possibility that they could coach the Neko down before the branch broke. But his sentence was cut off when a hand quickly came in contact with his face, sharply…What had he said this time? He was just making sure nothing happened to him!

He was told to stop being so selfish, which hit him deep for some reason. Selfish? He wasn't being selfish, he was just making sure his wife wasn't going to get harmed…but that did seem like a self-centered thing to do, didn't it? He really didn't consider just how Setsuna might've felt about the situation, and the moment they set foot outside the only thing he could do was think about was what he wanted. He wanted him to be safe, he didn't wanted him to do anything, he wanted him to go back home because it was dangerous…that was all fine and good but he had not put into account just what could've been going through his wife's head.

He felt awful…he might've been the absolute authority and a husband, but that did not give him the right to rule over him. Neil didn't know what was going through his head, and it wasn't until he heard the words 'he needs me' that his full attention was on the younger boy. It was the first time he'd seen him look him directly in the eye, and in those eyes the oldest could see an intensity he had never witnessed before in anyone. Setsuna said he was needed…something he admitted to him he did not feel in the slightest. But in this moment, in such a situation he felt needed for the first time…and he couldn't deny him that feeling.

Patting him on the head, the older boy told him to be careful, wanting to bring him back home in one piece rather then many (that might've been a bad joke). He added that he would take full responsibility if anything actually happened, since he was the one allowing him to do something so unsafe. Setsuna simple nodded and repeated his previous action, and no matter how much it pained Neil he didn't stop him. Maybe something like this was going to help him, showing him that more then just that kitten wanted and needed him.

He held his breath as he finally reached the branch, watching closely as he slowly slid himself onto it. His wife began to inch his way closer to the feline little by little, taking his time so as to not introduce too much weight to the limb at once (he knew how it worked). It was a hard thing to watch, but he sat back and allowed it. He knew Lyle was eyeing him oddly, but he paid him no mind; his brother probably understood why he let the younger boy go, but only to a certain degree. He wasn't there when they talked, when Setsuna opened up to him about what he felt (somewhat), never feeling what he felt. Neil didn't expect him to have a full understanding of his actions, but he could feel the worry in the look he was giving him.

Everything was going to alright…wasn't it? Letting out the breath he was holding in, he saw the younger boy gently pick up the kitten and place it in his arms. Now everything was fine, all he needed to go was scoot back and come down. Maybe he was just reacting the wrong way; the thought of losing the person he loved could've possibly sent is mind into a spiral, switching him into overprotective mode rather quickly. It was not his intention to keep his wife on a short leash, protecting him to the point of isolation. The younger boy had been through that already, voluntarily shutting himself away from the world for some unknown reason…he didn't need other people to help him with that. He just wanted to make him better, not drag him down further without even being fully aware of it.

But he had celebrated too quickly. As much as he wanted to believe the scene that was playing out before him was false, his eyes could not and would not deceive him. Down came the breach with a loud 'snap', taking both the youngest and the kitten with it. Shock, horror, absolute disbelief were all hitting the older boy at once to the point where it took five full seconds to really grasp the gravity of the situation. Setsuna had just fallen into the flooded stream, was currently crying out for help as he began to be swept away by the strong current…why the hell was he just standing there?

"SETSUNA!" He yelled, rushing over the where the water met land. We was, of course, stopped when Hallelujah roughly pulled him back, halting the recues attempts the oldest was about to put into action.

"Are you insane? Don't even think about-"

"Shut up! Dammit, don't you dare try to stop me, I have to save him!" He shouted, pushing the second youngest away and taking off down the side of the stream. In his right mind or out of it, the 'elder' Haptism had done the right thing in pulling him back, because he would just been asking for more trouble if he'd actually jumped in. It would not have helped anyone if he himself was taken away by the strong current, so he needed to use his head.

He could still see the youngest ahead of him, but the thing that worried him the most (minus the fact that he was being _taken down stream_) was how much his head was being forced under the water. It was a fast way to drown, and if he didn't get to him in time that was the fate his wife faced. He needed to face the truth, keep his mind aware of the severity of the situation so he didn't falter in the slightly. He needed to be quick, grasping the small chance of plucking his wife out of the water when it appeared.

Neil could hear his brother and Hallelujah running behind him, feet hitting the ground just as hard and fast as his were. He needed help, so he wasn't going to be so stupid as to refuse their assistance. The oldest knew that they too without a doubt were freaking out about what had just happened (not as much as he was though), so he called back to them to 'calm down'. Hysteria wasn't going to get them anywhere; it was only going to cause more panic and confusion then was needed, and right now he needed a clear mind. But he knew the real problem was Lyle…His brother was not very good a hiding his emotions, and if he overreacted there wasn't much he could but ask 'elder' Haptism to hold him down.

As they ran he continued to shine his flashlight on the water, sometimes losing the youngest but always getting him back. He tried shouting reassuring thing, saying that 'everything was going to be alright' and 'he wasn't going to leave him'. But then the horrible realization that Setsuna looked to be exhausted started to set in, as his cries becoming less and less he knew he needed to act fast. The three of them were coming up to an area where the ground would no longer be level with the stream, a hill of sorts. If that were to happen they would without a doubt lose the youngest, and Neil was not going to let that happen. Just as it began to ascend he slid of side, knowing that flooded or not the water there was not all that deep.

"N-Nii-san, wait!" He heard his brother behind him yell, quickly grabbing his wrist before he could touch the water.

"Lyle, I don't have time for-"

"H-Here," He started, removing his jacket and attaching it to his wrist, hands shaking as he did so, "B-Be careful, Nii-san…"

"Of course…" Neil said, trying his best to smile for him. His brother was terrified, and he couldn't blame him for feeling such a way. This wasn't Lyle's fault, this wasn't Hallelujah fault, it was his…and he was going to make things right. Making his way down into the water, he could see that the branch the youngest was previously holding on to had wedged itself between both sides of the stream, the hood of his jacket caught on one of the small limbs attached to it. He only had one shot at getting him back, so he grabbed onto the breach and made his way over Setsuna. His wife in no way looked conscious…and that concerned him.

But before he could worry about other things he needed to get him out of the water; reaching over he wrapped his fingers around the jacket's hood, pulling the younger boy against his body. The current was still rather strong even at this part of the stream, so he held onto him tightly. The water come up a little below his chest, so he tried his best to make sure the younger boy's head stayed above that. Feeling the tug on his wrist he knew he was time to come in, as he slowly made his way back to shore. His brother and the 'elder' Haptism helped him out, since the water that had soaked their clothes was weighing them down.

Once the two were completely out of the water, Neil could see that the youngest was still holding onto the kitten. Oh course…even when his life was in danger he wasn't going to abandon another life. He would praise the boy another time, but first they needed to get him inside and out of the rain. Holding him bridal style he began to walk away, his two assistances following close behind him. He didn't want to think about the two very real outcomes of this situation, not until he was home. The world could be a cruel place, but he just hoped that it wasn't as cruel as he other people said. Setsuna was too young- no…he wasn't going to think about it, not now. He just held the smaller boy's body tighter, hoping that Fate was not going to cause him anymore despair.

Once his house was finally he view, the oldest let out a sigh since his mother's car was no where in sight. If she was home she probably would've made things worse, with her panicking or for that matter interrogating them as to what happened. That would take up too much unnecessary time…and it was that very time that they needed. Neglecting the normal ritual of taking off one's shoes, all three of them bolted into the house, making their way into the living room. A thick silence filled the air, no one saying a word as he placed the smaller boy's body against the soft cushions. He didn't let go of him, only holding him his upper half, Setsuna's head buried in his chest as he whispered 'please wake up' into his ear.

There were only two options at this point…two very real options. The first and most desirable was that Setsuna come to, that he could be completely fine minus a few cuts or bruises. But then there was the other option…one that could not be put aside because it was the reality of the world. Not everything had a 'happy ending', and such logic even applied to those too young to understand it complexity. This was not a fairytale or a sweet love novel…it was life. Life said that the other option was death…it was a simple as that, and _no one_ could question it. It did not matter the age, not a single soul could be exempt from such a fate…he knew this all too well.

Despite its undesirable nature, Neil knew that it could've very well already happened. The person he was currently holding could've passed on already, his lifeless body the only thing left in the world. The oldest didn't want to accept such a thing, since it meant losing the one person he loved so much. But if it happened…it happened. There was nothing he could do but cry, wallowing in self-pity as he blamed himself for everything that had occurred that evening.

Holding the boy tighter he felt the hot tears start to make themselves known, falling to his cheeks and making him bury his face in the younger boy's dampened hair. He needed him, he would always need him. It was unfair for life to take him away, leaving him once again alone on empty in a world filled with a malice that could not be matched by anything. The sweet wishes he whispered into his wife's ear began to turn into desperate pleads, wanting Setsuna to wake up so they could just make the day's events a distant memory.

He felt his heart skip a beat when the sound of coughing broke through the still silence. He held the younger boy tighter as he heard his name being called by him, his real name, he knew he had finally woken up. Looking down he could see the slightly dazed look on his face, which was completely understandable given the situation he was in. Sitting up a little he noticed him look down at the kitten that was holding, then completely pull himself away from him.

"H-Here…" Setsuna said in a small voice, motioning the small bundle of fur towards his owner.

"T-Thanks…" Hallelujah said as he rubbed his face, probably to mask the tears he didn't want anyone to see. Once the feline was taken away form him, he lied back against the couch looking so completely worn out. It was at that point Neil knew it was time to act, so he scooped him up in his arms, making his way over to and up the stairs.

He didn't hear must protest from the younger boy, only the 'don't hold me like that' he muttered as they reached the bathroom. First and foremost he needed to get the youngest dry, so he let him stand as he reached into the cabinet and pulled out a towel. Gently he placed the soft fabric on the younger boy's head, using a slow back and forth motion to dry his hair off. It would be crossing a line if he began to strip the smaller boy, so he asked Setsuna if he could while he retrieved a few articles of clothing for him. The youngest just nodded but did not look up at him; Neil had the urge to pull him into a tight hug, but he knew it wasn't the time for that.

Maybe in about thirty minutes to an hour he could, but right now the younger needed to readjust. What he had gone through, no matter how much he trying to play it off, was a traumatic event that could not just be shaken off. Taking an extra towel with him, he left the bathroom and made his way to his room. He still felt like he was so close to losing something that couldn't be gotten back, like maybe this was just a dream he would wake up from any minute. But it wasn't…and he was thankful for that. To lose someone like that would've been his breaking point, and as he shuffled through his closet he couldn't help but feel himself crying again.

He had to halt his search for clean clothes momentarily, pressing his forehead against the frame of the door as he did so. He never wanted to feel like that again, _ever_. But it was all too clear that because he was young he had many more experiences ahead of him, and only time could tell just what those experiences had in store for him. That scared him…he wasn't sure if his new 'happy-go-lucky' attitude could withstand the fear of the unknown. But he had to persevere…for Setsuna's sake. He didn't want to live in fear of something he couldn't prevent, fearing the very thought of leaving the house or doing anything remotely enjoyable. He wasn't going to let such terror hinder his way of living, so he pushed it away to a far corner of his mind.

Shaking his head a little, he continued on with his search. The younger boy was so small to the point where even things Neil considered 'small' looked big on him, so he was at a bit of a loss when it came to what to bring him. The jacket just happened to be a once in a million find, so it was obvious he wasn't going to find something like that again. Sighing a little he just pulled something out, hoping that it wouldn't fall off of the poor boy once he'd put it on. Setting that aside he when back in to find himself something to wear, and in doing so a very…_interesting_ question popped into his head.

Just _how_ was he going to explain the younger boy's wardrobe change to his mother? On that note how was he going to explain just why the boy's other clothes were drenched? There was no way in hell he was going to tell his mother that he had nearly gotten his wife killed, because the last thing he wanted was to be reminded about how much of a horrible husband he had been. So what would he say? That they decided to suddenly go play in the rain? As ridiculous as it sounded he would use it…until he thought of a better one of course.

That was going to be a very awkward conversation…After he had come out of his 'why?' phase he found that he could not for the life of him lie to his mother or father's face. He didn't know why, but when he didn't seem to care it just made lying easier. Oh what would he give to have that back when his parents came home later on that day…

Removing his clothes he began to dry himself off, hoping they would see the desperation in his eyes and just drop the subject. Once he deemed himself 'water free' he slipped on the clothes he had pick out for himself, wondering briefly if the youngest was done in the bathroom. Picking up the pile of assorted garments, he made his way back to the place where had left the younger boy. Knocking was a good idea, hell, it was probably the best idea he'd gotten all day. To surprise the youngest in his current state while he was undressing would be a horrible thing, his wife probably avoiding him for about a month if that situation took place. So he brought his hand up to the wooden door, making a fist he knocked against it a few times.

"Oi, Setsuna, I've got some clothes for you." He said in a voice that still held some slight fear in it. Of course he couldn't completely shake the shock that had taken over his body, but he needed to at lest hide it from the youngest.

The door was opened slightly, and not wanting to take a chance Neil looked away as he held out the fresh clothing towards him. After feeling the fabric leave his hands, the sound of the door closing soon after, he looked back and sighed. What was going through his head? That was the question he asked himself as he sat against the wall, eagerly waiting for his wife to emerge from the bathroom. Would the youngest open up to him? Or would he have to give it more time? This wasn't one of those times were it was considered 'alright' for Setsuna to hold everything in; he needed to let it out, because if he didn't the feelings would only fester to the point where they would tear him apart from the inside. That wasn't healthy…

Neil had said he was going to save the younger boy, but after the events that had taken place that day…the reality of if he could or could not do such a thing would be influenced by what happened next. Today was a day of hard choices, and just because the crisis was over didn't mean the hard part was. Right now, _right now_…he knew something was going through his wife's head, telling him if it was acceptable to let someone in. Those thoughts…those life changing thoughts were going to make or break their relationship. If the youngest couldn't open up to him about this, he wouldn't open up to him about anything else…making his efforts to save the boy futile.

If he didn't _**want**_ to be saved there was nothing he could do…

"Neil…your clothes are too big…" Came the younger boy's small voice from the know open door.

"Sorry, you're so small I-"

"I'm not small." He said, promptly cutting him off before he could say anymore. Ah yes, why wouldn't he be sensitive about his height? Before he could shoot back with some kind of remark, the youngest dropped himself next to him, knees pulled against his chest with his arms resting on top of them. The youngest didn't look over at him, only burying his face in his crossed arms.

Was he going to speak to him? He wanted to be the instigator, to start up a conversation just because it seemed right. But he didn't know what to say…he didn't know what could've been the right thing for him to say so he didn't spoil the mood…not that there was one. There was just a silence filled with nothing, and that might've been due to the younger boy's deep thinking. He knew that pose all too well; that simple, childish pose everyone had done while brooding over something. It meant that the youngest was probably thinking over the events from that day, deciding if it was alright for him to file it all away in the deepest part of his psyche or let it out bit by bit.

Was it wrong for someone his age to make that decision? At this point in his life he couldn't pass judgment on something like that, given the oddity of their circumstances. He was a husband at thirteen while his wife was only ten, not many people could say that they had shared the same experience. He knew what the duties of a husband were, his own father serving as an excellent role model for such a thing. He needed to make his wife happy, making sure the he wasn't hurt by anything…well he couldn't very say _anything_. There were just some things in the world he couldn't prevent, so it wasn't quite right for him to say he could protect Setsuna from everything.

"I heard you crying…" Came the younger boy's small voice, once again breaking through the silence as if it hadn't existed in the first place.

"You…did?" Neil asked, feeling slightly surprised at his words.

"Yeah…you woke me up…" He said, still not looking up at the older boy. So…his words had reached him. Before he could say anything, Setsuna crawled over and onto his lap, repeating the same position but this time sitting in-between his legs. He was so tempted to hold him, to just pull him into a tight embrace and never let go. But he couldn't do such a thing…not right now. He just let him sit there; he let him brood over those thoughts a little longer, never interrupting him with some small movement or sound.

"…I didn't like it." Came his small voice again, this time filled with a slight…painful sorrow. He wasn't going to question why it sounded like that, knowing it contributed to the slow realization that what had happened to him was real. Neil started to ask what the younger boy 'didn't like', but the question was answered for him before it even left his lips. He didn't like the sound of him crying…That hit him deep.

The youngest could've added anything he wanted to that statement, that he 'only said it because it disturbed his sleep' or that it 'was just an annoying sound'…he knew the truth. But he didn't say more, most likely knowing that there was nothing more for him to add. There was no way he could hide the true intentions of those words, no way for him to shield himself from the feelings he put behind them. The oldest hesitantly reached up, gently placing his hands on Setsuna's shoulders; it was the only thing he could do that didn't seem to cross any lines, and it also seemed to serve as a 'start button' of sorts.

To say that the younger boy opened up would be an understatement…it would be better to say that he 'let the flood gates open' and didn't seem to know how to stop it. Neil was bombarded with pessimistic comment after pessimistic comment, and all the while he knew it was good for the younger boy to vent…he didn't expect to be like _that_. He was useless, he was should've listened, he shouldn't have been so stubborn, he was an idiot, and so on and so forth…On and on he just put himself down further and further, his constant criticisms seeming to have no end in sight.

"Setsuna…-"

"No good-"

"Setsuna-"

"Stupid-"

"Setsuna! - "

"Idiot-"

"SETSUNA!"

Alright, he could admit when he started something that couldn't stop, but that last 'Setsuna' seemed to have calmed him down. As he started to launch into some kind of speech about 'how it was wrong to put yourself down', he was stopped in his tracks when he felt two arms encircle themselves around his neck. This was…just like the last time. When they were in the abandoned building he performed the same action, pulling him down into an embrace the oldest thought wouldn't come till much later.

Maybe…the shield Setsuna had up was flimsier then he had expected. If that was the case maybe it was already started to crumble, maybe the water didn't just hit the younger boy on the outside but the inside as well. The youngest was in a life threatening ordeal, so it was absolutely logical for him to be shaken up to the point where he lost himself for a few minutes. But this…didn't seem like it was of those times, it seemed…like this was a somewhat genuine show of emotions. That did make him happy to a certain extent, but of course that happiness came with the overwhelming feeling that he had still done something horrible wrong to get the youngest to said point.

Although he had gotten over his fear, he still felt guilty that the day had even played out the way it did. Even if he said 'what happened happened' Neil just couldn't for the life of him shake the rest of such a awful feeling away, it still lingering with him even as he accepted that the entire thing was his fault. What could he do to rid himself of it completely? He was lost…so very lost in his own thoughts, apparently so much so that he was snapped out of them when he felt something slightly wet hit his cheek. Now if he had been in his right mind it would've been rather obvious what was touching him, but since he was just coming out of his thoughts it took him a moment.

He was sitting the hallway, back against the wall across from the bathroom, his wife holding him and something soft pressed against his cheek…_**what the hell else could it be**_? Once out of his slight state of bewilderment he couldn't help but blush every so slightly…his wife was _kissing him_. It was not him doing the kissing but his wife…and as hard as he tried he couldn't find the right words to express himself. This was the first time the younger boy had kissed him first, and hell, he didn't even have to ask him to! Even if it was on his cheek a kiss was still a kiss, and he just couldn't help but turn into that kiss. Their lips met and there was an awkward silence that followed…but was quickly broken when a fist collided with his cheek (the one that had just been kissed too). Damn…he had moved too fast.

"You…pervert! I was just trying to do something nice!" The youngest growled, pushing the older boy away and getting up. The mood had changed; the air of negativity had completely blown away, but there was still a small amount of _something_ there. Neil couldn't quite put his finger on it, but as the younger boy started to walk away it seemed to follow him. Was it…awkwardness?

Could it be that Setsuna was…_embarrassed_ by his actions? Now a few minutes ago he wouldn't have even considered him capable of feeling such a thing, but Neil also thought a few minutes ago he himself wasn't capable getting up and hugging the younger boy from behind. But yet he did it anyway. The older boy pulled the youngest back, practically draping himself over him. Such a child…even when his defenses were down he tried so hard to pretend that he was still tough. The younger boy had said that he was 'trying to do something nice', and it was another statement he couldn't deny the true meaning of.

"You know, I sounds like Setsuna-chan has finally fallen for-"

"Neil…don't cry again…" He said, completely ignoring what the older boy had wanted to say.

He was serious. The way he said it made his voice fill with concern, and he was sure it was because his tears had startled him. He had probably never had someone cry for him, someone to show him that they were truly worried about his well being. Excluding his parents, the boy seemed to hold no attachment to anyone else, never speaking about another person or someone he considered his 'friend'. It was rather easy to see that he was alone, and it was even easier to see that he was beyond lonely. There was no way for someone could isolate themselves the way he had and say 'I have someone', it just didn't happen like that.

Neil knew that in a time like that there was only one person to turn to…yourself. That was probably the worst most anyone could every make, but both of them were guilty of such a crime. The person that spoke to you was indeed not _you_, but a fabrication created from the despair one feels inside of them. It couldn't be trusted in the slightest, the poison laced words is spoke only pulled you down further and further into a place where no one could reach you. He knew…he knew all to well what it could do and how hard it was to turn away from its sweet temptation. But he would _not_ allow his wife to listen any further, however; the thing inside of him was strong and the hole was deep…but it was his duty as a husband to being the younger boy back.

"Alright, I'm sorry…I'll never cry in front of Setsuna-chan again." He said, rubbing his cheek against the younger boy's silky hair.

"…Thank you…"

"Does this mean I get another kiss?"

"Hell no…"

"Heh, so mean."


	7. The Idiot Husband and Wife Chapter

_**A/N:**_ Heh, sorry this is kind of late, but at lest it's out now, right? Anyway, this will be the last chapter with the characters as children, so they'll be growing up in the next one (a six year time skip)!

* * *

Of course…just because the danger was over, why did that mean the work was? That was the very question Neil asked himself upon finding out his wife had come down with a case of the common cold, and he knew it was obtained from their actions in the rain. Imagine his not-so-surprised face when he when he noticed the boy still asleep in his bed, completely knocked out and panting heavily. With him becoming sick it meant Neil automatically switched into mother hen mode, showing that he would _literally_ do anything to make sure his wife became well.

It began the day of the horrible rain event, and it was slightly obvious that something wasn't right. After their exchange of words in the hallway, the younger boy had requested a space to sleep. He quickly added that he DID NOT want the older boy next to him. It almost made him laugh at how fast his little wife had gotten, always so quick to point out things what he didn't want before the topic even came up. Setsuna obviously knew what he didn't want, but on that note didn't know what he wanted. Something was still telling him to keep that busted shield up, even though it was rather clear that it was broken…but not completely. It as one was no longer there, but the bits and pieces that remained were still very much protected the younger boy from an unknown, outside, and tactless threat.

He didn't know how the world worked as a whole just yet…the warped illusion his mind had produced for him was not correct. There were good people out there, people willing to be kind to him unconditionally because…well…they loved him. Parental love and love from another were two different things, and if the younger boy was going to experience the difference he needed to take down the rest of his defenses. He was already surrounded by a group of people that cared about him (some more willing to admit it then others), so all he had to do was comprehend that his 'friends' were going to stand by him no matter what.

Since the younger boy didn't want to sleep in his bed, the only thing he could do was retrieve the extra futon from the closet. His parents kept one just incase they had a visitor over, and it seemed to fit the occasion. So, leaving the younger boy in his room he made his way down the hall. Even if he wasn't going to be in the same bed as him, at lest the two of them would be in the same room. It that was as good as it was going to get, why mess with it? If his wife was going to allow him to even be in the same room as him, why would he complain?

The futon wasn't all that heavy, pulling it out of the small storage closet and dragging it back to his room, but he couldn't help but laugh a little when the younger boy already asleep in _his_ bed. So he was that tired, huh? He wouldn't be so rude as to kick him out, so he just set up the extra futon next to him. He was drained from his previous actions, so he too was in desperate need of sleep. He didn't want to think anymore, just wanting to sleep with his cute wife across from him. Even after everything that had gone on, he still looked so peaceful. He fought the temptation to reach over and stroke his hair, not knowing if the youngest was a light sleeper or not. So he decided against it, only resting his head against his pillow and slowly drifting off into a sweet welcoming darkness.

He wasn't sure just how long he'd been asleep, but when he opened his eyes and saw that the sun was shinning…he knew he'd probably slept the day away. How funny…after the hell he went through yesterday the sun just _happens_ to show itself once everything was said and over with…backstabber. But he couldn't very well hate something he couldn't control, now could he? It wasn't like it was plotting his downfall by not showing…that would be absurd…wasn't it? He was over thinking things to the point of irrationality, so he just let it go without much thought. It was a habit…he sometimes took his thought to a place no one would, but realizing rather quickly that he wasn't in his right mind. He knew he'd probably grow out of it, but until then his mind would just wander over to the impossible.

He was surprised to see that Setsuna was asleep in the futon next to him, but even more surprising was that he was still wearing the clothes he had given him. Did that mean…he hadn't gone home the other day? Had he actually spent the night…and he wasn't aware of it? Curse his dumb luck…if he had known the younger boy was going to spend the night he probably would've woke up to entertain him, but he had missed out on such a chance. He would've loved nothing more then to stay up most of the night with him, watching TV or reading whatever manga he had stashed away. It was the summer time, so wasn't he expected to stay up _much_ later then he usually did? And wouldn't it have been a nice treat if he spent that time with his wife?

But something was bothering him…getting a little closer to the younger boy he could see that his breathing was labored, the youngest panting with each breath. Placing his hand against the younger boy's forehead, he found that he was burning up quite a bit. Without much hesitation he leaped to his feet, but just as he began to sprint out of his room he found himself slamming into his brother as he entered his room. He groaned a little while he held his head, asking him what the hell he was doing. Lyle just handed him a small bottle of blue liquid, rubbing the side of his head as he did so.

Looking at it for a moment his brother added that their mother already knew the younger boy was sick, having already given him medication two hours ago. Neil was told that he needed to give him another small dose in about five minutes, so it would've probably been in his best interest if he woke the younger boy up. Well that was nice to know, but he did notice that his brother did not look over at him the entire time he spoke. He was acting…distant…As he was about to question Lyle's actions, his twin quickly fled before another word could be said. What was wrong with him? Was he still feeling shaken by what had gone on the other day?

If that was the case he really needed to talk to him, knowing of his brother's tendency of holding onto the negative for too long. He didn't know why he did it, but Lyle just seemed to remember all the unwanted things that happened to people he knew. That wasn't to say that he was a negative person in general, it was more that his filtration system was a little screwy. Instead of it letting in a balanced mix of both good and bad memories in, his mind would allow many more terrible memories in, pushing quite a few of the pleasant ones aside. Now the good ones were still very much there, it just took him a little longer to register them. For example if someone asked 'oi, do you remember when we went into town to buy gum?' his ultimate reply would be 'the day you nearly choked on it and died? Yeah I remember'.

He really needed to address said issue with his poor, severely messed up brother…but hay, Neil was in no way calling himself perfect. The Dylandy boys had problems…he knew this…but he also knew that said problems had started to mellow out once his wife had arrived. Maybe that was the thing that was missing; it was an odd observation he made, but when Setsuna moved to town everything just seemed…right. Everyone just seemed to be in a much more pleasant mood, acting as if the final piece of the puzzle had finally been added. It was hard for him to deny that his arrival was some random act, and putting their marriage aside, it was like all six of them were _meant_ to meet one another.

Perhaps he was just over thinking things again…but it didn't seem all that far-fetched. He shook his head a little, wanting to bring that thought back up another time. At that moment he was supposed to be waking the youngest up, which was a challenge considering he really didn't want to disturb him as he slept. Even as he panted heavily, a small amount of sweat forming on his forehead, he still looked peaceful. But he needed to wake him; if it was going to get him better he would do it, even if it involved him waking him up.

So he kneeled next to him, propping him against his chest so that his body was sitting upright. Neil shook him a slightly, whispering a little 'Setsuna, wake up' as he did so. The smaller boy groaned slightly, and upon hearing it he almost felt a little guilty about what he was doing. When his wife's eyes were finally open, he saw his attention focus upward at him. Setsuna looked dazed and weak, much more then he did while on the couch the other day. It pained the older boy to see him in such a state, but he knew it would pass in time. As he was about to explain why he had shaken him from his sleep, he felt himself be pushed down against his futon.

Shocked would've probably been the perfect word to describe the feeling he had, but it was quickly forgotten when his wife curled up against his chest and fell back asleep. It was…going to be much harder then expected to get the younger boy awake, wasn't it? As wonderful as it was to have Setsuna so close to him, he really needed to administer his medication to him. So he shook him again, adding a little more volume and demand to his voice. He really didn't feel like yelling at the boy while he was sick, since his hearing was probably somewhat sensitive to the things around him. Shaking him again, the younger boy just buried his face in his chest and muttered something incoherently.

He knew the sapphire colored liquid in the bottle tasted horrible, which was probably why the youngest was ignoring him so much. If anything the lingering taste of a metallic tang in ones mouth was enough to drive anyone away, and even though it said 'berry' right on the package there was no indication that said flavor existed. Neil remembered the vile taste vividly…it was one of the many reason he tried his best to not catch _anything_, not wanting even a drop to enter his mouth. His mother told him the worse it taste the better it worked, which held quite a bit of truth since it always seemed to knock out whatever was ailing them (it probably scared the hell out of the sickness with its blue evil).

But if it worked that well for them it would work that well for his wife, so he sat upright once again and tried his best to snap him out of Dreamland. Neil wasn't sure why he hadn't thought of using the one thing that was guaranteed to get a reaction out of him, most likely because he didn't feel like getting slapped or punched in such a nice position. However, it was necessary…so he sucked it up and uttered those wonderful words (at lest to him) to his lovely wife.

_If you don't wake up I'll kiss you…_

The response was damn near instant; Setsuna did not hit him, but he did push him away…or at lest attempted to. He told the older boy that he was an 'idiot' in a weak voice, thrashing about ever so slightly. Once he had finally calmed down, completely extinguishing whatever little energy he had, Neil couldn't help but smile a little. The younger boy was still trying to act so tough even in his fragile condition, trying to hide his true feelings. It wasn't going to work as well as it did before, since the older boy knew just how far his wife was already willing to open up. This fact was made clear when he _willingly_ kissed him the other day, though, of course, it would take a little longer for the younger boy to actually accept a kiss (on the lips) from his loving husband.

He told the younger boy that it was time for him to take his medicine, and from the face he made it was once again made clear that he would not make the situation easy. He picked the plastic bottle up, remembering to remove the small cup attached to the top before doing so. The directions said that for people the ages ten and under only needed to take one tablespoon, which made the older boy a little annoyed since he was required to take two tablespoons. Less would've been _so_ much better. As he measured out the exact amount he heard the youngest say that he hated the taste, and he couldn't help but sympathize with him. The older boy confessed that he too couldn't stand the strange liquid that _never_ seemed to run out, adding that he never once recalled his mother ever buying a new bottle.

As he saw Setsuna start to speak once more, he slipped the rim of the cup between his lips and poured the god-awful liquid into it. The younger boy coughed a little, but ultimately swallowed it none the less. His wife halfheartedly glared at him, one look that Neil knew he deserved. At lest he didn't have to take anymore of the metallic until later, about two hours the bottle said, so he could go back to sleep if he wanted to. Upon telling him this to the youngest he back away from him, returning to the bed he had fallen asleep in previously. He didn't mind having his bed taken away, knowing that the younger boy probably did not feel like waiting as he retrieved the other futon.

He was, however, _pleasantly_ surprised when he felt his wrist be taken rather weakly into the hands of the younger boy. He didn't need to ask a single thing, only allowing himself to be pulled down against the futon the youngest was lying on. Setsuna told him that he felt cold as he once again buried his face in his chest, which made Neil begin to softly rub the poor boy's back. He probably wasn't aware of the vulnerability he was showing, the realization of such a thing probably wouldn't make itself known until a little later. But he wasn't going to wait for that time to come, so he just held his wife close so he could provide him with the warmth he needed.

But that was just the first day…Since the younger boy was diagnosed with the common cold, it meant he would be bedridden for at lest two weeks…and what a two weeks it was. Apparently the youngest had decided the events that had taken place on the first day would NEVER occur again, so whenever he would try to touch him the youngest would yell 'don't touch me!' over and over again. The extreme switch in his behavior on the first day to such a defensive attitude, him acting as if some kind of harm had been done to him, meant that the he had realized just _how_ open he was on said day. He probably wasn't ready for that, ready to show that much of himself to him. Neil understood, but he noticed the harder Setsuna fought the more distant he became.

The 'don't touch me' somehow morphed into the youngest not even wanting him to be in the same space as him, forcing him out of his own room and not allow him back in unless his wife needed something. Neil really didn't know how to take such rejection, so he just focused on giving him what he wanted. He knew what he had become…a butler, not a husband, but someone who was only there to serve the very basic needs of the younger boy. He spent most of his time sitting outside of his room, trying to think of what he wanted to say to Setsuna. The older boy was seriously rethinking his wife's actions, coming to the conclusion that he was _once again_ isolating himself.

Why was he doing it? Was it really just because of what happened on the first day? If that was the problem then why wasn't he talking about it? He knew the younger boy was capable of doing something like that…since he had already done so on two separate occasions. Neil wanted to give the boy space to come to his senses but this…this was driving him crazy. He needed to interact with him, to hug him, to tell him he loved him…and he couldn't very well do that if he was behind a wooden door. It hurt knowing that the person he loved wouldn't even speak to him, never even giving him a second glance.

He knew what it felt like to be pushed away by the younger boy…but not like _that_. No matter how much he tried putting the horribly negative feelings behind him, trying to see the good in his situation…he began to doubt himself. But he would try harder…he wanted to see this through to the end, so the two of them could move on with their lives. It was just one of the many things the both of them needed to go through in life, just so they could come out happy. It really wasn't asking for much…but he would walk through hell and back if it meant what he wanted would come true.

When not catering to his wife's wishes, the older boy spent most of his time sitting against his door. He didn't want to be too far away if he was…needed in that sort of way. Other then eat, take the occasional nap, and explain just why he was sitting against his door to his mother, he really did do much. It was a pitiful way of going about his day, he knew, but since he was not allowed in his own room it was the only thing he could do. He would sometimes be visited by his brother (well not really _visit_ since his room was located across from his), who seemed to have forgotten all about the angst that was plaguing him. Instead it was replaced with a look of concern, one that made him come across as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

Five days into his rut, the 'youngest' Haptism and Tieria had decided to grace him with their presence. He couldn't help but laugh a little when he found that his wife was not the only person suffering from a cold; Hallelujah had also come down with the very same illness the youngest had, and he too was confined to his room until he was once again in good heath. The second youngest had said that whatever happened to him he deserved, adding that it was about time something 'slowed him down'. Oh how bittersweet that statement was…yes the 'elder' Haptism was known for his wild ways, but he had nearly risked his life by going outside to save a kitten he was attached to.

Tieria didn't know what happened that day, since the four of them never bothered to tell him (for obvious reasons)…and that's the way it would be. More people didn't need to be pulling into something like that, having no need to participate in the angst of the past. What was done was done, and bringing something like that back up again would only cause the fear inside of him to resurface…

The three of them talked in the hallway for a few minute, Neil being filling in on whatever he had missed on TV. Contrary to popular belief, _Gundam_ was _not_ the only show they watched, having their own individual agendas that took place before and after said show. Tieria had a strange taste for the incredibly cheesy romance dramas that came on later in the day, usually watching at lest one to two hours of them given the day (he freely told him this).

They were always the same in Neil's option; some girl would always fall for the uncatchable popular guy, and in the end would realize that he was either a jerk or that her real love was her childhood friend. So…_cliché_ (or maybe he was just being bias). The second youngest was a hopeless romantic, and he would probably never admit to anyone…even himself! He wasn't an extreme case, but it was clear that if given the chance he would probably do something very nice for his sweet Allelujah. _Everyone_ knew the second youngest was in love with him, having been asked by quite a few people in the past if he was. His response would always be a very loud 'N-NO!' at whoever was asking, always pushing the 'younger' Haptism away from him before he stormed off. He was only digging his hole deeper, and maybe one day he would see that 'oh…I really do like him.'

Both Haptisms were into detective shows (be it anime or otherwise), and those just happened to come on early on the morning. At least with those there was no cookie cutter plot, one that played itself out over and over again. Each week was something different, and if lucky there would be an hour long special opposed to the thirty minutes they usually lasted. The basic outline within those thirty minutes to an hour was simple: a crime unfolds, the police find themselves completely stumped, a brilliant privet eye is called in, suspects are named, the deduction is made, and the crime is solved. Though simple enough it was the complexities of the mysteries that made it worth watching, the 'how did they do it?' factor kept one guessing until the very end.

They were entertaining, and the older boy was not one to care about realism of plot. There was, however, another reason Neil found the shows so amusing, and that would be the Haptism's 'phases' they seemed to go through at lest once a month. During that time of the month it was fascinating to see the two of them run around the village or town, acting as if they were _real_ detectives. For people their age they were rather good at what they did, always finding what they were asked to and never asking for any pay in return. Even if it was short-lived everyone was rather grateful for their teamwork, since the two of them were not known for that kind of behavior.

But his and his brother's tastes ran in a bit of a different direction then theirs…tokusatsu. Oh yes…tokusatsu…To sum it up in simple terms, it was the live-action television that featured superheroes with a bundle of cheesy special effects (See? Why worry about realism of plot if you're into something like that?). One perfect example of said genre would be, a personal favorite of his, _Kamen Rider_, a show older then he was. But their fascination did not start with the _Rider_ series, instead beginning with a movie franchise older then anyone in the household.

When the two of them were ten their mother finally allowed them to have their own television, or rather, allowed _him_ to have the privilege of having such a object in his room. Lyle didn't seem too upset about it, but the two did rather frequently fight over what they wanted to watch. Tussling with the remote control, if _Gundam_ was not on they couldn't agree on anything. That's the way it was back then; since the two of them were related they weren't really expected to agree on much, and it wasn't until much later the twins found out that it was _alright_ for them to do such a thing. But the TV was different…Including his, there were only two devices in the house, the other located downstairs in the living room. His brother could've so easily gone down there and watched whatever he wanted, but yet he stayed and fought.

They could've been doing something more productive, like homework or at lest going outside…but _something_ else had to be on! And it was…While on the floor wrestling for the remote, one of them accidently clicked a random assortment of numbers on said gadget. When a thunderous roar erupted from the screen both of them quickly back up, hitting the wall behind them as they did so. He looked over at his brother and the other boy did the same, Neil completely surprised by whatever had just popped up on screen. After a few minutes of recomposing themselves, the two of them finally directed their attention over to the television screen.

Inside the small box was what looked to be a giant green lizard attacking a city, and if they guessed it would've probably been Tokyo. Besides the obvious destruction of the cardboard city, the whole thing looked rather…cheap. The green lizard was a man in a suite, who fought off planes that dangled from visible strings masked by special effects and big explosions…Even through all of that they didn't change the channel. He didn't know what was going through his brother's mind at the time, he could tell that he was completely captivated by what was going on...and he was as well.

It wasn't until their father arrived home that they found out that the movie was called _Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah_, and that it was part of a long running movie series. For some reason that statement lit a spark inside of them, and the very next day the purchased every last movie in the franchise they could get their hands on. Of course their parents thought they had lost a few screws, but they let them get away with it since it seemed to be a healthy hobby. Neil didn't mind giving up his entire Saturday to watch movies, completely confined to his room with his brother beside him.

Somewhere down the line an amazing discovery was found…the movies weren't the only thing that featured such effects. Over the years they found more and more series that include superheroes, giant robots, calling out ones attacks, futuristic plots, and transformations. He and his brother could be considered 'fanboys' to a certain degree (or completely), but at lest they were enjoying their fandom.

They were children, so was it wrong for them to like childish thing? Of course not…this was why he liked watching television so much with Setsuna. The only real time he looked his age, not caught up in some deep thought or angst ridden situation, was when he was sitting against him completely mesmerized by what was going on inside the small metal box. That childlike look on his face, like everything before that one moment didn't matter…the look of pure innocence overtaking his features…it was at those times Neil knew that his wife was truly a ten year old boy. It was a sad fact about the younger boy, that he could only show that kind of thing unconsciously. One day…one day his young wife would be fully aware of his actions, and in the end would feel happy about it.

Just as the conversation was winding down, Tieria questioned just _why_ the oldest was sitting against his door. Neil was wondering when that question could come up…so he lied…just a little. He told them that Setsuna was sick, and fearing contamination he decided to stay away from him. Allelujah was the first to speak, rather surprised that the younger boy would even consider sleeping in his room. But then there was Tieria…the look him gave him instantly told him that his lie had not worked him. The second youngest was sharp when it came to situations like this (though completely oblivious during others), and his only fear would be him questioning him once again.

He couldn't tell him…confess that his wife was basically treating him like a dog rather then a husband. The oldest couldn't and would say that, not wanting to bad mouth the person he loved. But if the second youngest pried too hard he would spill, and it didn't help matters when heard the word 'water' come from the other side of the door. That was his cue to rush downstairs and bring the younger boy a glass of cold water, but for some reason he couldn't move. He felt…almost ashamed to performing the very same act he'd been doing for the past five days. Why? Why did he feel so humiliated?

Because deep down he _knew_ what was happening to him was wrong…

"Nii-san…" Came the voice of his brother beside him. Of course his first reaction would be shock, since he had not been there a minute a go. Neil made a little noise before jumping a little, wishing he had some kind of warning beforehand.

It had already been two weeks, and according his mother his wife was feeling much better. However, just because he was getting better did not mean he was allowed back in the room, so he was still left outside. But instead of filling his head with the good he was doing, he began to brood over the fact that he was being mistreated. The two of them had already done through so much, so he saw the behavior the younger boy expressed the same as the one he displayed when they first met. That completely 'I don't care about you' attitude that was so obviously there on the first day had made its way back into the boy, making the oldest believe that everything they'd experience together…didn't matter at all.

That hurt him more then any strike he'd ever received from the boy. It hit him deep, and the more he thought about it the worse he felt. His parent clearly noticed the changes in how he conducted himself during the day, neither talking nor looking at anyone as he fetched whatever it was that Setsuna needed. He knew it had gotten terribly bad when he found himself once again able to lie to his mother and father, so easily telling them that he was alright when he felt something inside of him slowly breaking.

"We need to talk…" Lyle said, tone suggesting that this was not going to be a casual conversation. He didn't look over at him, just focusing all of his attention on the ground. He felt…empty, like he had before finding out that he was married. It was just like _that_ time and knowing that only pulled in down further into his new…hole.

"Nii-san, I know you love him and all, but you can't let him treat you like this." His brother mutter, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

"There's nothing wrong with the way he's treating-"

"Don't you dare say that!" He yelled, grabbing his brother's shirt by the collar, "You're his…you're his husband! He shouldn't treat you like you're nothing!"

He didn't want to listen…no matter how much truth his brother's words held. His wife would change if given time, so this 'talk' was not necessary. He shut all of it out, only thinking about what could be instead of what was currently going on. His mind wondered over to a place that seemed more fantasy then reality, it making whatever Lyle was talking about a distant memory. It was such a nice place…even if it wasn't real he felt at ease when he went there.

He didn't snap out of his 'trance' until he heard his door open, or rather it hitting the wall with a loud 'thud'. He wasn't…the twins were _not_ allowed in that room! Without much hesitation he quickly sprung to his feet, and went after him. He didn't understand, he knew nothing about how things worked between the two of them. His brother was going to mess everything up without even knowing it, and it was up to him to stop Lyle from doing any kind of damage. Hooking his arms around his brother's waist, he began to pull him back. It would've been a simple task to just pull him back out, but the other boy held tightly onto the door frame making it rather difficult. Why was he being so stubborn?

Lyle was starting to ramble again, this time it was directed at Setsuna and he would in no way allow him to disturb the younger boy. He could see the younger boy's face…the absolutely shocked look that was completely focused on the two of them. It wasn't the 'what the hell are you two doing?' shock, but rather a…'what are you saying?' look. Why that expression? Why was all of his wife's attention now on his brother?

"You're hurting him!"

What? What had Lyle just said? Before he could even process those words he felt himself be thrown to the ground, both he and his brother landing against it quite roughly. He groaned a little as the pain of having another person land on him started to sink in (he wasn't use to having someone practically _fall _on him). He tried to push his twin off of him, but just as he started he found the weight already gone. Though he was not looking, he could tell that his brother was looking down on him. A cold stare directed at him, so full of disgrace and pain that he could not bear to look directly at him.

He knew his brother was right, that the way he was being treated was wrong and incredibly unfair. But it was alright, wasn't it? If it was his wife he could allow that kind of thing to happen to him, right? Wife or not he was still being mistreated by the person he'd fallen so hard, the person he'd fought for even if it meant losing his life.

"Talk to him…_now_, Nii-san." Lyle said, voice filled with an intense seriousness. As much as he wanted to, he could no longer ignore what his happening to him.

But the truth of the matter was this…the person he loved – not _liked_ like some kind of friend, _**loved**_ – was giving him the cold-shoulder for no apparent reason. He had spent _two whole weeks _sitting outside of his own room, brooding, and basically sending himself down a spiral that was similar to the one he'd gone through before the knowledge of Setsuna F Seiei even existed. It wasn't right for him to go through that again, wallowing in self-hating pity for a second time in his life. He had found the one person that could make him happy…and Neil would be damned if he lost him to his inability to distinguished the difference between his wife acting defensive and just acting flat out cruel (in the worst way).

So he gathered up enough courage to actually decide to get up, forgetting that the person he was about to talk to was indeed his wife. This was once again his fault…he should've addressed this problem on the first day; instead he just branded it as a 'phase' and ignored it, but never again…the only reason he was holding back was because the younger boy was his significant other. The older boy knew using that as an excuse was no longer acceptable, so as he entered his room he quickly discarded said excuse, filing it away so it could be used at the appropriate time.

Once he was inside, the door was quickly shut behind him, quickly denying him any form of escape. It wasn't like he had any intent on doing said action…but it was nice to know his brother was making sure he had only one option at this point. Sitting on his futon was his wife, his other half, his spouse, whatever you wanted to call him he was sitting _right there_. The younger boy was kneeling with his head down, but it was clear that he had acknowledged his presence by the way he gripped his pants leg. Neil didn't want to approach him just yet, since he had in fact nothing good to say to him. His mind was a mess, trying to collect some form of a coherent sentence that would somehow start a conversation.

This was the first time he found himself incapable of speaking to Setsuna, the first time he couldn't look over at his wife because of the shame he felt inside of him. He just stood there, not making a single sound as time ticked away. It slowly inched away, feeling like the stream of things had slowed to the point where it seemed to stand still. Seconds could've been minute, minutes could've been hours…he didn't know…Why did things have to turn out like this? Asking a question that complex meant questioning his own character, and the older boy had not done that particular action before.

He allowed too many things to slide…there needed to be a line, one that shouldn't be crossed without explanation. He could take the violence, the younger boy physically harming him didn't bother him at all…because he didn't mean it. The name calling was almost a given, since he himself was guilty of calling the boy something other then his true name…or at lest he would be ('Setsuna-chan' was only the beginning). But there _needed_ to be a line…and he knew where to draw it now. He could _**not**_ allow his wife to get him down emotionally, making him feel so completely worthless to the point where he questioned his position as a good husband. He needed to ask, not guess and hope he found the right answer, he needed to in actuality go up to the younger boy, asking 'what had he done wrong?' or 'what was the matter?'

Space was a nice thing…but it was not necessary all the time. He was so busy thinking about how he could make things better in the future that he wasn't focusing on the present, missing what was going on right in front of him. He needed to live in the 'now' not the 'what could be', and he found this to be his major flaw. He could do that once he was much older, but he was still a kid and need to be just that…a kid.

"Lock- I mean, Neil…" Came a small voice from in front of him. That's right, he still needed to talk to him. Setsuna was still sitting in the same spot as before, the only difference being the tears that fell to the ground.

Wait…_tears_? His wife was crying? Quickly crossing the distance between them, he kneeled in front of him wanting to make sure what he was seeing was real. It was… Setsuna was clinging tightly to his pants leg, biting down on his bottom lip probably to prevent himself from making any kind of sound out loud. As noble as his attempts seemed, he still made a small 'hic' noise every few seconds.

"Setsuna…?" He hesitantly said, not wanting to touch him just yet. Was this…his fault? It wouldn't be the first time he'd put the boy in such a state, so he couldn't help but feel horrible about it.

Another silence filled the air, minus the small sounds coming from the younger boy. Neil felt like asking for forgiveness, but for what reason should he ask? If he didn't have a clue as to what he'd done, what would he ask for? The only thing he could truly apologize for was leaving the older boy alone with his thoughts, allowing the thing inside of him to spill its poisonous words once again. This problem could've been dealt with, but he turned a blind eye to it like it wasn't anything to worry about. Who knew what horrible things the younger boy was being told…and he could've stopped them.

"I'm…I-I'm sorry…for hurting you…" Came Setsuna's tiny voice again, almost going unnoticed. The 'hic' sound had now become much more frequent, and it was painfully apparent that he was about to burst. The oldest had only seen one emotion when his wife acted in that particular way…anger. But this time there would be something else, and Neil wasn't sure just how he was going to take witnessing it…

"I…I…I-"

"S-Setsuna, you don't have to-"

"I-I want my husband back…!"

"-say anything- wait, wha, h-huh?"

He was officially stunned…As he watched the youngest completely break down, now bawling into his chest, he replayed those word over and over again in his head. He wanted…his husband back? Neil had not entered that room for almost two weeks, had not held the younger boy nor spoken to him…and _he_ was the one who missed _him_? His wife had not said 'I want my servant back', but had wholeheartedly admitted that he wanted his husband, not Neil Dylandy, but his _husband_.

_Setsuna F Seiei had freely confessed that he accepted him as…__**his husband**__. _

The confusion he felt before that statement was gone, now being taken up with something much more pleasant. Reaching up he wrapped his arms around the younger boy's body, holding him tightly. He missed this…he missed holding him, having his arms encircled or lazily slung around him. Just having that warmth there made him feel so much better about himself, the self-hatred he held inside of him slowly disappearing along with his doubt. He didn't mind the wet shirt, the slight pain from the younger boy as he gripped onto him, or the way he kept repeating 'I'm sorry for being a horrible person' like a broken record…he just kept holding him.

He could never hate this person, and he could also never see him as a 'horrible person'. He could at times be a little on the mean side, but that did not mean he was an awful human being. The younger boy didn't know how to interact with people properly, and it was just another thing he would help him with. Neil quietly told the other boy to stop, adding that there was no need for him to call himself such a deplorable name.

He heard the younger boy's sobs begin to stop, his tight hold on him lessening to the point of nonexistence. He shouldn't have to cry…when his wife cried he felt the need to help him, stopping that gloom and doom filled sound from ever coming out of him again. The older boy had already forgiven him the moment he called him 'husband', so there was no need for him to apologize. He saw Setsuna look up at him, a stream of tears still rolling down his face even though he had finally stopped crying. Reaching up he gently wiped them away with his thumb, knowing full well how overused said action was (he'd seen enough romance movies with his mother to know).

He really did look better, the frailty from before was still there but not as much. That fact made him feel even better, knowing that the younger boy's heath was once again in good condition. Before he could even get any kind of word out, he was pulled down into a familiar position. His cheek was gently place against his wife's chest, the boy's arms encircled around his neck as he buried his face in his hair. It was slightly different from before, but it still felt familiar. This was of course until he found himself lying against both futons, still in the same position they were previously in while upright. Since both beds were practically overlapping, making it appear to be one big bed on the ground opposed to two smaller one. He in no way minded this kind of thing, being so close to the person he loved, but he did need to ask…

"Are you doing this because you know I like it, or because you want to, Setsuna-chan…?" He asked, feeling himself completely relaxing.

"…Both…" He answered rather bluntly, sounding as if he'd gone back to straight-talking ways. He probably knew that there was no way for him to hide, so his only option was to be truthful…in his own blunt, Setsuna-chan way.

A small smile crept across his features; he once again felt whole again, in the arms on his wife who was still just a child. Hell, they were both still children, but yet they had been thrown into situation after situation that caused them to think otherwise. The two just needed a break from it all, to just completely unwind and enjoy their childhood for what it was.

It was still summer, wasn't it? They still had quite a few weeks left, and within those days twenty-four hours to do whatever they pleased. They didn't need to brood anymore, didn't need to contemplate if the world was truly the horrible place some people made it out to be…they just needed to be children. Sighing a little he noticed the pressure on the top of his head lessen, or shift rather, as if Setsuna was now focused on something else. Just as he was about to ask his wife told him that 'they were watch', making him silently lie there for a moment…before promptly jolting up and directing his to attention over to the door.

It was quickly shut a soon as his eyes met it, a small crack he hadn't noticed before now gone. They couldn't really be out there, could they? Wanting to know for sure he quickly got to his feet and rushed over, flinging the door open once he'd finally reached it. Of course…when it came to spying he couldn't put it passed the three people currently trying to scramble away, obviously failing since they were frantically trying to figure out which way they wanted to go. It wasn't like he was going to chase them, finding it much more entertaining if he just watched them panic like a bunch of chicken running from slaughter.

But as he watched them the realization that someone was missing started to set in; both Haptism were a given as well as Tieria, but the most apparent choice for being a spy was not there…his brother. Looking down the hall he could see him, leaning against the wall opposite to the one his room was located on. His arms were crossed slightly and his head was down, giving off the impression that he was in no mood to talk. Why wouldn't his brother be affected by he had done? Neil was beginning to act like he had two years ago, and during that time Lyle was the person he hurt the most. He knew that whenever his brother was reminded of that time he would become more introverted, neither talking to another soul nor interacting with them.

He needed to say something…he needed to walk up to his brother and apologize for acting so oblivious. As he began to make his way over to him, he noticed something (or rather someone) dart out of his room. He observed his wife go up to his brother, a mild fascination overtaking him as he wonder just what he was going to do. The youngest began to exam him, looking him up and down before saying something. Since there was good distance between them he couldn't hear clearly, and the loud 'no, not that way you idiot!' from the other three wasn't helping him at all.

Lyle did not respond to whatever Setsuna had said, so he could only watch (in horror) as his wife reached up kissed him. It was just on the cheek, but it was enough of a jolt to make him suddenly grab the doorframe. He might've said that it was alright for that sort of thing to happen, not often, but…this wasn't the right time! He literally had to hold himself back from going over there, knowing full well that doing something that stupid would only worsen the situation. If the younger boy kissing him couldn't bring him back nothing would, and he would be deemed a lost cause. But the youngest had delivered the 'kiss of life' since his brother was blushing furiously, holding the cheek that had just been kissed and looking at Setsuna was such an embarrassing stare…yeah, Lyle was back. The two of them walked up to him, his brother looking down at the ground and his wife looking as if he had done nothing wrong.

"H-He said you don't have to apologize to me…since he already did." Lyle said, blush getting much deeper. Neil only gave him a small 'oh' before actually thinking about what he had said, then adding a slightly longer 'ohh…' once he understood.

His wife really could be such a sweetheart if he wanted to…he probably wouldn't say it out loud, but the youngest most likely didn't want the two to have any ill-feelings towards one another. Thinking about it this was made clear when he was brought to the back of the bus, Setsuna not making a sound as he held the older boy's sleeve as he lead him. He wanted to the two of them to stay close, so that the _three_ of them be 'a little more then content' ('happy' just didn't seem like a word Setsuna would use at the moment). His brother was someone important to him, and it didn't seem right to leave him out of their 'family' anymore. No…his brother wasn't the only person he needed to include…

"You guys are my family too." He said, his attention on three that now sat against the wall.

"Oh…my…_**what**_? He must've caught whatever Setsuna had…someone get a thermometer! Lockon's delirious!" Tieria screeched, completely taken by surprise by what the oldest had said…much like both Haptism boys.

"Come on, I really mean it…and I'm not sick!" Neil shot back, a slight hint of seriousness within in voice, "From now on we should all be one big family!"

"…Family? But we're not all related…" His wife muttered, tugging on his shirt slightly.

"Something like that doesn't matter! We like each other, right? Isn't that enough reason to start one?" He continued on, knowing that there was more to his statement then just that. At one point or another he knew the others felt that something like this just wasn't a coincidence, that all six of them had just met at a whim with neither any rhyme nor reason.

"…I'd like that…" The second youngest said, but then quickly adjusted his glasses, "I-I mean, someone has to keep you guy's in line!"

That's what he liked to hear! With Tieria's acceptance came Allelujah's, and because he just 'couldn't leave his brother to such a fate' Hallelujah agreed as well. Of course his own brother agreed to such a situation, and it wasn't until there was only one person left that everyone directed their attention over to him.

"What about you…Setsuna-chan…?"

He was silent, and it was clear that he was thinking about his options. The oldest would be lying if he said he didn't want his wife to be with him, seeing it as a very good opportunity for all of them, not just the two of them, to become closer. Setsuna was a very special person to him…and he wanted nothing more then to spend the rest of his life with him. Another cheesy statement he knew, but that was the way he felt, and hay, why just have the two of them alone? 'The more the merrier', wasn't that they saying? His friends were special too, and he knew without them and his wife he would be pretty lost. That kind of loneliness was something he never wished to feel, he'd probably be so confused he wouldn't know what to do with himself.

Neil felt the hand on the bottom of his shirt tighten slightly, and he could probably guess that said action would be the closet he'd get to a hug from the younger boy at the moment. Even though he was blunt, the youngest probably knew he couldn't do such a thing when dealing with affection. It wouldn't surprise him in the slightest if the only time he would actually kiss him is if no one was looking, and that went long with the hugging. Why wouldn't he be embarrassed about doing something like that? Setsuna had just come to accept _some kind_ of feeling inside of him, so it completely untreatable if he began to act a little more timid then usual.

"…I'm fine with it." The youngest finally said, positing himself partially behind the older boy. It was pretty much the same thing he had done when they'd first met, hiding behind his mother because he clearly didn't know what to expect.

Neil couldn't help but ask a very obvious question, but he wanted to hear the answer from his wife's own lips. He inquired if the boy had ever had anything close to a 'friend', and without too much hesitation the younger boy shook his head. He didn't want to think about what could've happened to the youngest in the past, seeing now that something like that needed to stay in the past, so he just let it go until it was the right time to talk about it. There were just too many scars on his wife, and he could not heal all of them in one go. It would be a time consuming task, but he was more then willing to take on the challenge.

Reaching behind him, he gently pulled the younger boy from behind him, hugging him once he decided to budge. Scars…everyone in the hallway had them, he knew this for sure, and with such dysfunctional people around why not bring them all together? Everyone needed someone to lean on, right? They were so young to have any sort of hurt inside of them, but then again the world was not always a fair place. But for now that didn't matter, only that all six of them acted like children for the few weeks before they were pushed back into the thick of things.

"Let's just have fun, okay?" He said, holding his wife a little tighter. This would be the true start of their summer, and with a little help he knew it could be enjoyable for everyone.

"…Okay."

* * *

"TRANS-AM!"

And that was the sound of victory. Setsuna would freely admit that he had not grasped the full understanding of such a game until two weeks ago, and once he'd actually learned how to play it was quite fascinating.

Everything had to come to an end, and of course summer was no different. It was the final day of their vacation and he couldn't help but feel a little depressed; it was a hard thing for him to confess, but he had actually…_enjoyed_ himself. For him to actually say something like that mean something very profound had taken place, and since he had recognized that it was only a matter of time before he completely let himself show. The youngest still didn't know just what that meant, and he was still slightly confused over how one finds out just who they are.

But he didn't think about such things over the weeks after he willing became a part of a…_family_. He already had something called a 'family', this including his mother and father. But with this…he'd never hear of anything like it. He never knew that said word could be used outside of 'blood-relative', and of course he needed to give it some thought. He was surrounded by a group of people that appeared to generally like him (some more then others), who had not hurt him be it physically or mentally. That sounded to be a somewhat textbook definition of what a 'friend' probably was…but could it be said for a family that (excluding the twins) had no blood relation? Could such a thing really be used to describe the relationship that six people shared?

He thought so…which was why he agreed, wanting to prove whatever was disagreeing with him wrong. Setsuna was still slightly wary even after he agreed, finding the thought of letting even more people into his life slightly frightening. He'd never been close to anyone his age, never speaking, interacting or just having a pleasant time around anyone anywhere near his ten years. He didn't like them…really wanting nothing to do with them and allowing them in return to do whatever they pleased with him. That was the old him…the youngest had come to the realization that he was rather apprehensive whenever it came to dealing with children, knowing the malevolence each of them held towards him.

This is what he use to believed…if he got too close to someone, opened up too much to the point of taking pleasure in their company…they in turn would hurt him. Though he had never been hurt in _that_ sort of way, he had still been hurt none the less. The youngest knew he was a broken person, and he also knew that he kept people a certain distance. A long time ago he unconsciously vowed to _**never**_ let anyone near him, biting the hand of anyone who dared to get close enough. He thought he didn't need anything called 'friendship' or 'love', seeing both things as childish and ridiculous. He didn't need to feel close to anyone other then his parents, because they were the only two people he owed the most to. The youngest saw everyone around him as a useless threat to his way a living, so why take a chance on endangering his life?

But it was only a matter of time before that way of living was completely destroyed. And who would've thought…it would only take one boy named Lockon Stratos (Neil Dylandy) to completely break him down. It fascinated him to the point of mild obsession, having just one person cause him to abandon his old way of living. This person, he had learned, possessed genuine feelings for him that only confused him even further. He understood that he had 'saved' the older boy from a fate no one truly desired, but why fall for him for just that reason? Appreciation, hell, admiration would've been better then actually falling in love with him! But…what was one was done, and there was really nothing he could do to change the other boy's mind.

But it wasn't like he wanted to… Lockon had really been nothing but kind to him, even when he was joking around with him. He was indeed the proof he needed…proof that there was actually hope in people, that not all of them would come to harm him. Over time he could see the same thing in the people called 'friends', and he could only hid himself in embarrassment as thought about his foolish actions. It was wrong of him to put everyone in the same category, but he knew that all of the blame couldn't rightfully be put on him alone. He'd been hurt in the worse possible way…so much so that the will to believe in anyone had nearly been extinguished, blinding him to the kindness that was playing out right in front of him.

This was one reason he absolutely hated himself for hurting his…husband. It was wrong for the youngest to push the person who had already done so much for him away, ignoring his emotion and acting as if nothing over the passed weeks had happened. Just like the room he had confined himself to he felt empty, like a huge part of him had been taken away. That idiotic saying 'you don't know what you've got till it's gone' really did play itself out over those two horrible weeks, and even in his disease induced daze he knew what he had done was wrong. But every time he wanted to say something close to an apology nothing but horrible, degrading, demanding things would come out of mouth.

As the contact with the older boy became less and less, he began to feel worse about everything…and he knew the sickness had nothing to do with it. His mind was blank for a few days, going into auto-mode and demanding whatever he thought he needed. There was a time where he found isolation as a safe haven, an appropriate place where he could escape from everything and everyone. But now he just saw it as a barrier between something he wasn't sure if he did or did not want. The person sitting outside of his own room cared about him, told him that he 'loved him', and held him tenderly…The older boy hadn't caused any physical harm to him, and had actually saved his life…why shouldn't he accept that person?

He was terrified…utterly terrified at what would come of him doing such a thing. He'd never let anyone in before, never let anyone even attempt to get to know him since he himself didn't know or understand that person. The youngest desperately wanted to change, but that _damn _voice inside of him kept telling him that it was a waste of time. It would nag him consistently about how much he would fail at his efforts, how the people he let in would only shatter the new life he worked so hard on. He tried to ignore it, but he couldn't help but listen ever so slightly as it once again filled his mind with false information.

However…it didn't last. He was startled on the last day of his cold, nearly backing himself into a corner as Lyle practically broke the door off its hinges. He could see his…husband trying to pull him back, but all the while he listened to what the other Dylandy was saying. He agreed…he agreed that he was being selfish and thoughtless, and above all else he agreed that he was hurting Lockon. He had been told the truth and hearing from another person just made it that more real.

Setsuna had trampled over his…husband's emotions, something he swore he would never do. It wasn't until he was alone with the oldest that the realization of just how much he _really_ missed him began to set in, and it didn't help one bit that a single word had not been said between them. The person standing in front of him was not the one he was use to, so completely taken over by guilt and self-doubt. The Lockon Stratos that stood before him was not the same one from before, and it only broke him further. The youngest couldn't hold his tears back, no longer caring if it was right or wrong.

Tears were tears, as much as he disliked showing them he knew that the emotion behind them needed to be seen. He needed to get it out, to show that he was more then the person he'd been during those two long weeks. His chest hurt once again, but this time it was much more intense. It wasn't until the older boy was close enough to him that he completely let go; it wasn't like the pervious times where he was filled with an uncontrollable spite towards the oldest…oh no…it wasn't spite he was feeling.

He said it…he let out that he had missed the older boy. But that wasn't all…he had willing admitted that he now saw him as his 'husband', something the youngest had been denying since he first met him. That's what Lockon was…and he really didn't see the negativity that came along with such a title. He use to hate that word…the mere utter of it would send his mind into a spiral of horrible thoughts. But that was no longer the case, it now being attached with the gentleness that he was still so hesitant to feel. Setsuna didn't want to be hesitant about something like this anymore; he knew that he had pushed others away for far too long, and it was about time he needed to let someone in without regretting it…

He knew that said person without a doubt needed to be first and foremost his husband. The youngest didn't cry into the older boy's chest…he flat out bawled. He just let everything he had been feeling over those passed two weeks out, and he felt an odd sense of relief as he did so. In the past he tolerated being near the oldest, but he couldn't help but find himself practically clinging to him for dear life. He knew that acting _that_ straightforward was unlike him, but as long as his husband was near he didn't care.

As they lie against both futons, the thought of how vulnerable he was acting did occur to him. He was being open and accepting of someone he hated so deeply in the past, someone that caused him so much confusion and angst. But that disgust was not appropriate in any form, seeing it as nothing more then him once against biting the hand of someone who he believe was a threat. It was the sick delusion he had created from years of harm and isolation, and he no longer wanted to live without at lest trying to obtain someone he considered…close. His husband, through his idiotic actions and words, had shown him that he wasn't a threat to his existence. Setsuna didn't really know what that word meant…His idea of exsitance was just being, not making an impact on anyone and not allowing anyone to impact him.

That wasn't what the true meaning of the word was…'To exist' was the same as 'to live' and he knew doing both things required interaction with other people. He couldn't just block all of them off and expect to his life to be a happy one, no, it in no way worked like that. The youngest needed to become aware that his emotions were not in fact hindering his way of living, but instead were screaming out to him that they were needed. Happiness, sadness, grief, all of these things needed to be felt in order for him to exist.

Though that might've been true, he was still afraid of the future he could no longer see clearly. If he didn't know what to expect, why should he feel safe? But wasn't that the way things were supposed to be? Thinking that the way he was living before coming to the village would last was foolish, since life was also helped along with the process of change. He wasn't alone anymore, so there would definitely be assistance in that department…but he still felt a little unnerved. The youngest wondered if everything around him would last, if the people he considered his 'friends' would soon tired of him and cast him away. That would be the ultimate humiliation on his part, putting so much trust in people after so long then having it thrown right back in his face.

In spite of this he knew that wouldn't happen (maybe)…which was another reason he agreed to being part of something that just seemed to work. He didn't know how to have 'fun', so he would leave it up to the ones who knew what they were doing. It was just one of the many things in the world he didn't understand…and at his age it was rather laughable for him to not know. Setsuna had never really done anything remotely enjoyable in his life, seeing it as nothing more then a waste of time. He related that word to how much 'fun' those children had torturing him, so that was the only meaning he really knew…

But he found himself a new meaning over the weeks after his accepted of his husband. Since had been over at the Dylandy's for damn near two weeks, he thought he might as well tough out the last day. His mother once again dropped off a pair of clean clothes for him; since wearing Lockon's was completely out of the question (they were far too big), his mother had opted to bring over whatever he needed. She didn't seem to mind him stay over in the slightly, and in actuality seemed pretty pleased with the whole situation. It wasn't until he actually started hanging around others did he see just how much his mother worried about him, her not having to say a word for him to understand. His behavior would've worried anyone, and the last thing he wanted to do was put his mother in such a position.

The youngest didn't mind sleeping near his husband, but still wanted him to sleep in his own futon. The two were close, but not close enough to physically touch…and for the moment that seemed alright. It was odd once he was finally aware that he was in someone else's room for the night, and even though he was slightly fatigued from the linger sickness that still remained slightly he couldn't sleep. It was an odd feeling…he had not slept next to another soul since he was much younger, and that person just happened to be his mother. But at that moment the person near him wasn't related to him by blood. It was…awkward to say the least.

The older boy was already well asleep, and since it was about one o'clock in the morning he couldn't blame him. He really didn't want to wake him, already putting him through so much. But he just couldn't help himself since he was in need of assistance. Shaking him slightly he heard a small 'five more minutes' come from him, making him just shake him a little harder. He did feel bad about what he was doing, however; he needed someone to talk to for a few minute, and the oldest was the closet person to him. Once he was finally awake he confessed that he could not fall asleep no matter how hard he tried, explaining that he wasn't even sure if there was a given reason.

He was, of course, given a very sleepy look from the older boy. He mumbled something incoherently before reaching over, and the youngest couldn't really say that he was surprised at said action as he was pulled against his husband's chest. Setsuna almost felt like struggling, but since the oldest had already fallen asleep he decided against it. He stayed like that for a few minutes before he actually began to fall asleep. He wasn't going so far as to say that being that close to the older boy had done the trick (since that would be accepting far too much), so he just left it as an act of him just getting to tired to deal with his restlessness.

The real kickoff of the 'fun' began the next day, and it would be his first taste of something called a…water gun fight. He'd awaken that morning to the sound of rummaging, and once he took a long look at the clock he deemed it far too early for such a thing. Groggily sitting up he asked why the older boy was looking through his closet, obviously making too much noise. Instead of getting a spoken response something that looked to be weapon was placed in front of him, and after a few minutes of examining its colorful exterior he asked the oldest just what he was showing him.

He was given a dumbfound look by the other boy, as if he had just admitted he had no understanding of the Japanese language. The youngest was for the second time told that he was missing out on his childhood, the oldest adding that the device he had just shown him was called a water gun. Looking it over again he asked why he had been looking for such a thing, not having the slightest clue as to what one did with it. Lockon once again gave him 'you must be kidding' look, to which he shot back with a 'just shut up and tell him' glare. The answer was simple and why he had not thought of it was beyond him; the older boy told him it was for 'snipping the targets', and that all six of them were going to engage in quite the interesting battle. They were going to war…? With _water_?

Setsuna was confused but instead of questioning what was supposed to take place later on that day, he decided to just let it play out. Yawning, he picked up the clothes his mother had left for him and left. As he did so he peered into Lyle's room to find him doing the exact same thing as his bother, digging through his closet while he carelessly threw things every which way. He only shook his head as he passed, knowing that the two of them were probably going to ask from to help them pick up.

It wasn't like he enjoyed housework, but he knew it needed to be done and gotten out of the way. The thing he found doing much more often then anything else was cooking, and he had learned such a trait from his mother. He would always sit and watch her in the kitchen, paying close attention to the slightest movement her hands made as they dance across whatever she was preparing. The youngest could see how natural it seemed when she worked, like an artist skillfully creating another masterpiece with fingers that dance flawlessly across a blank canvas, producing something that made everyone cry 'magnificent'.

Maybe he was looking too deep into things, but he did know that that kind of artistry was apparently an inherited trait. He knew how to cook without much effort, and no one seemed to complain whenever they were severed any of his creations. He was young so his knowledge of the culinary kind was rather limited to whatever he watched his mother do, but he knew if he studied hard he could learn anything he wanted about the cooking world.

Once he was finally in the bathroom he located the towels and bath clothes, remembering where Lockon had pulled one of them out to dry him off. He really didn't like to think back to that time, the feeling of being absolutely helpless as he was taken away by the swift current still hit his body every now and then. That's what dying felt like, wasn't it…a black nothing that consumed the body until you felt nothing. It was like…he was falling asleep and didn't have the willing to wake himself. He didn't like that feeling, but there wasn't really anything he could do to rid himself of it…or so he thought at first.

It was small at first, a murmur of some kind that sounded familiar. The youngest paid it no mind at first, but over time the murmur turned into a desperate plead… he couldn't ignore that. By the time he had figured out just who the weeping pleads where coming from he was wake, looking up at said person as the obvious tears ran down his face. He didn't like that…seeing someone so incredibly upbeat with the look of pure heartbreaking relief on their face. He didn't look at him, he didn't want to look at…not after seeing that. The youngest found it easier to just ignore him, becoming lost in his thoughts about how much of his fault that evening had been. It really was his burden to bare…not his husband's, since he was the one that decided to go while the older boy protested.

He should've just stayed home, but the thought of sitting alone in an empty house just didn't sit well with him. He could've sat and been the good boy, but instead he decided to be a stupid child and go against the better judgment of someone. That's why he was so hard on himself, for being the one thing he strived so hard not to become…a child. It was the hard truth he faced, but he had without much complaint. Even after he had kissed the oldest (on the cheek!), had punched him for because pervert, he still felt like he was the one to blame.

He shook the thoughts from his head as he found what he was looking for. With a quick wash he slipped into the clean clothes delivered to him, feeling a little more relived and awake then he previously had. Upon leaving the bathroom once finished, both Dylandy boys rush in with water guns in hand. It would've been rather stupid of him to question their motives, since 'water' guns needed to be filled with _something_. Deciding he'd wait till they were done, he sat against the opposite wall from the bathroom door. If they were going to be starting a war, did that mean there would be split sides? Since he knew the others would be joining them in said battle, it was only fair to have only two people on a team.

The most obvious choice would be to pair up with the one the other was use to, but that was indeed _obvious_. It would be nice to be on the same team as Lockon, but that's where the problem lied. The older boy would've probably spent ninety percent of the time protecting him, while the other ten would be focused on actually playing. As much of a nice jester that was…this was _war_. He wasn't a competitive person, but whenever that word was used one needed to act in a certain way. It would've been a much better choice if he was with someone that was much less inclined to 'risk their life' for him, focusing on both the game AND their partner. The youngest had read enough books on strategies to know that much…

After a few minutes the two finally emerged from the bathroom, though he didn't have much time to say a thing since he was pulled forward and over to the stairs. Instead of being taken to the front door like he thought, he was dragged into the…kitchen? Why there? Standing in the doorway he watched as the two of them began looking through cupboard after cupboard, pulling out a bottle of oddly colored liquid once done. Tilting his head to the side Setsuna in the end had to ask what was going on, understanding the water guns but not the small bottle labeled 'food coloring'. It was explained to him that to differentiate just who shot who, the water needed to be dyed based on the team color.

That made sense, right? If they were going to run around willy-nilly shooting each other, something he really wasn't sure was going to be a 'fun' thing, why not color code it? But why did they have only one bottle…? Before he could even give it more thought, he was whisked away to the front door, shoes briskly slipped on just as they ran out the door. Another interesting thing popped into his head as he was practically being dragged…where the hell were they going to wage war? Going into town just didn't seem like the greatest of idea, and he had no intentions of going back into the forest any time soon. So where?

Setsuna's question was answered when the three of them stopped in front of a building he'd seen when he first arrived…and according to his mother and father it was the school he'd be attending. It was a rather large building, and he would've guessed with was either due to the separation of levels (i.e. grades) or to house the many children that would inhabit it (being three stories he came to the conclusion). That scared him…if there were that many kids in the village there was a good chance he would somehow be targeted, once again put through the same torture he had for so many years. He didn't want to get hurt like that again, because he knew he would in turn take his frustrations out on the older boy.

He didn't think he could hold something like that in, especially since Lockon seemed like the kind of person to pester him until he talked if it was _that_ kind of situation. He could already see the scenario playing out in his head…he would pretend that nothing was going on, like he usually did whenever the he was picked on by anyone. Of course his husband would take noticed of his 'odd' behavior, constantly asking him if he was okay. He would ignore him, keeping to himself until he reached his breaking point. That was a place he wished to never get to…to snap so hard that he would inflict major harm someone else…it didn't sit well with him. Don't get him wrong, he was by no means a pushover, the youngest just chose not to draw too much attention to him. Was that so wrong?

As the three of them stood in the middle of the vacant schoolyard, something just didn't seem right. Everything just seemed far too quite…like a plot had been put into motion before they'd even set foot there. He watched as Lockon filled up their (they had said they found an extra, so it was given to him) water guns with dye, pulling out there pairs of goggles once done. They weren't 'cheap swimming' goggles, more 'foldable science class safety' goggles (which weren't any better), and when both Dylandy boys put them on he knew he should probably do that same. It was probably to protect against the color filled liquid that was in no way safe for the eyes, but the oddly yellow tent made his world just that…yellow.

Upon being handed his gun, the youngest was told to stay by Lyle as he watched his husband begin to leave. So that was how the war was going to play out…the three of them were one team (another option, though he hadn't considered it), while waiting to ambush were the others. So very odd…the feeling of anticipation slowly began to over take him, something he wasn't use to. He felt the other Dylandy pat him on the head, reassuring him that nothing bad would happen. He didn't need to hear that, but it was a nice thing for the older boy to say.

He learned two things that day…one that their 'war' was really nothing more then an much more advance version of 'hide-and-seek', and two would be that both the Dylandy twins had very good aim. As he ran around the abandoned school yard with Lyle, heart pounding as he dodged barrage after barrage of 'gunfire', he noticed how little the oldest fired back. The only time he seemed to retaliate was when the 'enemy' became too close, and whenever the older boy fired he always had complete focus that never seemed to falter. That was…quite the interesting trait to say the lest.

It wasn't until there was one person left on each team that things became interesting: Lockon, who had somehow skillfully avoided everything and taken out both Allelujah and Tieria, and on the opposing side Hallelujah. The four of them watched on the sidelines, Setsuna particularly interested in just what was going to happen next. He wasn't really into the whole 'physical activity' thing, only participating during gym because it was required. Gym was just another excuse for children to try and pick with him, though they seemed to back off slightly since he excel at most anything he was told to do. Batting, soccer, dodge ball (that one hurt), kickball, all were sports he usually won for his team, but yet after that forty-five minutes was over everything just reverted right back to the hellish ways he was use to.

Both the older boy and 'elder' Haptism were having a stand off, there really not being anymore point in hiding since their team had been taken out. It was almost like something one would read in a book on the old west; two people facing off at noon (though it was about ten in the morning), the one with the fastest hand would win the whole thing. But there was, however, one major flaw on Hallelujah's side…He noticed that the second oldest would fire at will, not really targeting anything and acting as he just wanted to pull the trigger for the hell of it. Because of this it looked as if he had only good shoot left, so if he missed he missed. However, even if he did manage to fire the shot probably wouldn't make it to its target, clearly due to the low pressure within the gun. His husband, on the other hand, had barely used up any of his ammo.

That was another thing that surprised him about Lockon; both Dylandy twins were actually very tactical, but it was Lockon who seemed to possess a little more of this then his brother (as well as his aim). He had actually left the two of them for the soul purpose of hunting down 'the back up', who were always hidden from view as they wanted to ambush. It was a risky thing to do, especially given that Lyle was supposed to act as a decoy for the 'runner' to chase (which was Hallelujah). Once they had gotten far enough 'the back up' was supposed to come around to the rear and take them out…but it didn't happen. Never the less they were still taken out by the 'runner', but not before his husband tried to shoot the 'elder' Haptism from quite the distance.

But the face off would be payback he guessed, seeing that oldest had said he would 'get him back for shooting Setsuna-chan'. Everything seemed tense, but instead of a being stiff it seemed more…fun filled. It wasn't serious; nothing they were doing that day could be taken as such, and it was for that very reason he allowed himself to be dragged outside, running around for hours as he tried his best to not get 'shot'. If it had been the old him his first thought would be how absolutely senseless all of it seemed, but since that person was no longer in charge his thoughts did not necessarily wander over to that place. It didn't need to make sense he learned, since they were having 'fun' nothing really need to.

Once the two of them finally decided to move, neither of them beat around the bush with their actions. Hallelujah was the first to fire, and as the youngest predicted the shot did not reach. He blinked for only a mere second and upon opening his eyes the match was over, a big green spot on the 'elder' Haptism shirt. With his failure came the older boy's victory, and Setsuna thought that meant the 'War of Water' was over. Oh yes, the war was very much over, but the 'water' wasn't. He spent the next ten minutes emptying what little water he had on everyone and vise-versa, no teams, no strategies, no organization (though he did deliberately aim at the oldest for the hell of it).

Was this how he was supposed to send his summer? He thought so…and it pained him to know that he had never experienced such a thing before. Locking himself away from the world had done so much damage, probably so much that he didn't even know that true magnitude of it. But he was trying to make up for it, and he just hoped that was enough. He wanted to change, to become a better person so he could go through life without feeling like there wasn't a point. There was a point…he just needed to find it.

That was how he spent the reminded of his summer days, going outside to play some kind of game, going into town for confectioneries (occasionally stopping by the floor shop), and if the weather was bad he stayed inside and watched TV (things other then the usual). He had somehow gotten into the habit of spending the night at the Dylandy's during the weekend, still sleeping in Lockon's room but not allowing him to get too close like before. As a replacement for his hugging him the middle of the night, the older boy permitted him full access to his (seemingly endless) manga collection. He would read one a night as the oldest slept, fascinated at how, much like _Gundam_, he found himself captivated by them.

He was once against taken into a world he didn't think exist, but instead this time the pictures were stationary. Setsuna didn't mind this, though he did have to read them with a flashlight to prevent disturbing the older boy. He also found that a few of them continued on into magazines, and inside even more manga could be found. The youngest had taken to these books fairly quickly, so much so that he would sometimes drag the older boy into town with him, wanting to buy the next volume so he could continue.

"You…CHEATER!"

That was another thing. Along with the candy they would purchase playing cards while in town, ones that went along with, what else, _Gundam_. The premise was simple enough; there were four types of cards, attack, power up, mobile armor (which included gundams), and special. Mobile armor was the main card, but without an attack card it was just a sitting duck. Power up and specials were self-explanatory, but depending on how one played those cards determined if victory was in view. Whoever got the other player down their three-thousand 'life point' (given at the beginning of the game), or had completely taken out all of the opposing side's mobile armor was declared the winner.

Everyone had their own specialty deck based on a certain gundam, and the youngest had decided that he too wanted to start one too. There was, however, one small problem…everyone said that the deck he wanted would've been rather hard to maintain since the gundam he wanted was apparently very _rare_. But image everyone's surprise when he actually found the card in the _very first pack he opened_. He might've found it, but he didn't really know if he was good enough to actually play. Whenever asked he would always decline, not really fearing defeat but fearing his inexperience. So instead he would watch the others play, seeing if he could somehow pick up on anything.

"The added sniper rifle, Haro assistance, plus three extra power up and trans-am equals five-thousand hit point! That's not cheating! That's just called good strategy!" The oldest said, obviously gloating. All six of them were currently sitting in the older boy's room, watching as the 'elder' Haptism was defeated by sharp wit. Setsuna had to wonder though…if his husband was such a good strategist, why did he think it was such a wonderful idea to shout 'aishiteru!' at the top of his lungs?

He was still such a confusing person to him, but it was that confusion that allowed him to change. Now he wouldn't go so far as to say he wore his emotions on his sleeve, which just was not the case in the slightest, but he could say that he felt that he actually could speak to the older boy about things…just not _everything_ of course. He had someone to go to, and if that person wasn't around he had quite a few back-ups. He'd never had so many people around him that were willing to spent time with him, and he couldn't help but slowly warm up to them. Even as he spent more time around them, be it playing or just hanging out, he still felt that hesitation when around them. Of course it would take more time for him to _truly_ see them as trustworthy, since it really was impossible for him to do a _complete _one-eighty in such a short time.

Since Lyle had gotten permission from his brother, the youngest sat against him much like he did with the other Dylandy. The only real difference between the two would be Lyle's loose grip on him, as well as the way he shook as he held him (not enough to be noticed, but enough to be felt). It was probably due to the fact that it was the first time either of them had been so close, and the older boy seemed to be a little surprised and nervous. He wasn't going to bite him…he was above that. Their affections for him were totally different, his husband acting as if they'd known each other for so long, all restraint and uncertainty completely gone as if it had not existed in the first place (which it probably didn't). His brother on the other hand acted as if he had the worst schoolgirl crush on him, one that seemed to only escalate into something more the longer the youngest stayed.

It was still such an odd feeling…having someone actually taken an interest in him in _that_ sort of fashion. He, in spite of everything, didn't know what love really was and if he was or was not feeling it. The only example he really had was the way the Dylandy boys acted around him, and if that was love then he really wasn't feeling it. He wasn't throwing himself at either of them, clinging to them like they were his lifeline, or blushing furiously whenever they were around. He didn't make up names for them, only using the ones that were given, this includes nicknames and he never really thought of going into the 'nickname' area (since the name 'Lockon Stratos' was created before his arrival, so it in no way violated this).

But perhaps he was looking at this from the wrong view, needed a little more mature of an example rather then two love struck boys. His mother and father were in love, and (thank god) they didn't act like either twins. Their way of showing it was much more subtle, light touches and kisses and romantic speech that didn't go over the 'too far' line. That seemed like the kind of 'love' he would show another, something so faint but recognizable to the person he was showing it to. But with that subtlety would probably come his defensive side, him acting like he didn't care at all. Maybe that's who he was on the inside…someone who acted on way but felt another, only doing so to protect himself…he didn't know.

"Let me see those for a minute." Tieria said, snatching the deck away from the 'elder' Haptism.

"Oi! Give those back-"

"Mobile armor, mobile armor, mobile armor, super power up, super power up, attack…well hell, no wonder you suck so badly." He said, shifting through the deck with a completely annoyed look on his face.

"Nii-san, I think you should add a little more variety-"

"Don't agree with him! The only reason you are is because you like-"

"It looks fine to me…" Setsuna interrupted. He really just wanted to make them stop, avoiding another petty argument between the two of them. Besides yelling he detested the sound of people arguing, funding it tedious to listen to.

"Yeah, listen to my cute wife-"

"Shut _up_, Lockon…" He quickly growled in a threatening tone, clearly not in favor of such a nickname. How? _How_? How could it be possible for the older boy to come up with even more names from him? 'Setsuna-chan' was enough for him, but somehow he got himself tagged as 'Setsu', 'Setsu-chan', 'Chibi Setsu', but by far the worst was '_cute wife' _and_ 'chibi wife'_. He could take the first very one given to him, tolerating it since it had been so overused.

However…since these were so new and he didn't feel like dealing with them, he found himself growling whenever they were used. He did occasionally hit him for saying such things, the action always being a quick jab to the side. He was such an idiot…but he wasn't pushing him away, instead allowing him to stay in one spot. Setsuna knew he was the one that needed to move, not the older boy, since he was already so close. He didn't know how many steps he needed to take, how much he needed to go through so the two of them could be on the same level…but he knew the end result would be desired down the line.

After a few more minutes of unimportant talk, Tieria reminded them that it was about time they started getting ready. That's right…he was told that since today was the last day of their vacation a festival would be held, mainly geared towards the children in the village. He'd never been to anything remotely close to a festival, so when he heard he needed to 'dress up' he was a little confused. It was a custom for people to dress in something called a yukata for gathering such as that, the garment basically being a much thinner version of a kimono that is worn during the summer to cool one down. But as a replacement for it most boys opted to wear a jinbei, which consisted of a kimono-esque top that tied on side and a matching pair of shorts.

His father had bought him that outfit earlier in the week, along with a pair of pair of zori sandals and tabi socks. He didn't know why he needed to gussy up himself, but once he actually put everything on for the first time it felt rather comfortable. His jinbei had a nice looking flora pattern (mostly lilies) that contrasted with the solid blue color the whole thing was, and when his mother said he looked cute the youngest knew he could not show the older boy anything until the night of the event. His thoughts were that if she liked it his husband would like it, and the last thing Setsuna wanted was to be hugged tightly and have something along the line of 'my cute wife looks even cuter' come out of Lockon's mouth.

That was a horrible walk home…everyone had left so they could change, the older boy offering to walk him home once he reached the front door. He quickly declined the offer and left, knowing that his husband was going to give him some kind of reaction. He didn't 'take his time' but he did walk a little slower then he was supposed to, knowing that it really wasn't going to change the outcome. '_What am I going to do…?'_ was his first thought, fearing what the oldest might do to him. It wasn't really a matter of him being touched…the youngest just thought his reaction wasn't going to be a good one.

Lately he for some strange reason couldn't control something inside of him, and it irritated him to no end. Other then the 'you're an idiot' feeling he got whenever the older boy did anything…well…idiotic to him, there was something else there. It was forcing him to feel awkward around him, the feeling in his chest, the very same one he felt in the abandoned build, had once against made itself known. It was much strong then the other time, and he somehow connected it with his husband.

Every time the other boy called him something, draped himself over him, or just plain acted like the idiot that he was…he felt like something inside of him 'heating up' so to speak. Hell, he would've much rather felt nothing like before then feel this! Much like the first nickname he received Setsuna tolerated the hugging and the draping, but now…he _really_ wasn't sure. He was comfortable with it, and that started to freak him out a little. The youngest wasn't supposed to like something like that! He was _supposed_ to struggle a little, he was _supposed_ to up more of a vocal protest, he was supposed to not like it…right? He was confused again…

He shook the feeling off of him as he walked into his house, knowing that there was a complete void of life inside. Both his mother and father had told him the day before that they would be running a stand for the festival, so they would have to leave before he did to set up. Apparently it wasn't an uncommon thing for the parents to help with the festival, seeing that _someone_ had to run all of those stand. That was what a festival was (or so the youngest was told), an area lit with paper lanterns, stands filled with sweet treats and games, where you could have fun and be a kid.

He wasn't a child…but for tonight he didn't mind acting like one. Upon reaching his room he saw the clothes he needed to change into lying against his bed, obviously put there by his mother. As he began to slip out of the outfit he was wearing, he thought about what she had told him before he departed over to the Dylandy's place; he knew his mother was worried about his well being, and it was only made even clearer when she told him to 'enjoy himself at the festival'.

"I'm sorry…" He muttered to himself as he picked up the clothes from his bed. Slipping them on, he found himself once again very comfortable, but that comfort was quickly overshadowed when he remembered he was supposed to walk right back over to the older boy's house.

He didn't like the awkward feeling got, and he couldn't very well hide such a feeling. But he needed to suck it up, wanting to please his mother and show that he was trying to 'enjoy himself'. Letting out a deep sigh he made his way back downstairs, the thoughts of what might be floating around in his mind…but maybe it would be that bad…That was a very unbelievable maybe. He could worry all he wanted, but nothing was going to change the fact that he needed to leave, that no matter what happed he needed to accept that something was going to happen to him once he set foot outside of his house. Just as he touched the front door he heard noises, people talking on the other side that sounded oh-so familiar.

Why wouldn't the others know where he lived? He knew where everyone lived, and had at one point or another visited their homes for various reasons. The Dylandy's, for very obvious reasons, was the only residence he had been over the seemed relatively hectic. The Haptism's humble abode seemed slightly less frantic, it holding some sort of odd feeling to it, like something was being hidden from view for a very good reason. But that was nothing compared to the Erde family home…though he had only graced the steps near the back door (which apparently lead to Tieria's room) there was an odd feeling that, similar to the Haptism's, something was being hidden…but said 'something' seemed much darker and sinister. He didn't want to get too close to that place, the feeling that he was not wanted and if he every decided to tread upon such a place…the worst would befall him.

Gazing at the doorknob with eyes filled with concern, he tried to will his hand to move as it stayed stationary against the metal device. He had _just_ said he needed to suck it up! There really wasn't anymore use for protest, complaining, or anything of that nature. The youngest needed to leave, needed to be around others for not only his mother's sake but his as well. So he pushed whatever hesitation that was holding him back aside, and gripping the knob tightly he flung the door open. Apparently that action had startled the two that had been waiting patiently, making them jump back in surprise…really nice move, wasn't it?

"In a hurry?" Lockon said, both he and his brother looking as if they had just had the daylights scared out of them.

"S-Sorry…" He said, now feeling slight bad about his action because he could've actually hit someone. Before he could say anymore, and this came as no surprise to him, he was pulled into a tight hug.

"Heh, you look really cute, Setsu-chan!" The older boy said, holding him tighter. Setsuna sighed slightly; that feeling had once again endangered inside of him, and the only thing he could do was endure it. There was no way he could just push the other way and tell him he felt 'strangely at ease' or 'weird' whenever he touched him, because that would just raised too many question about something he wasn't sure how to talk about.

He didn't know what to call the feeling the crept up every time the oldest touched him. There just wasn't any real explanation for it, so he decided that he wouldn't both with it until he understood it further. Looking around he noticed that the Dylandy boys were the only ones around, making him look up at the older boy with question.

"We have to pick them up. They had to change too, you know." The oldest said, ruffling his hair a little.

"Cut it out!"

As the youngest swatted his hand away, he began to walk in the direction of the Haptism's place, ignoring the 'oi, wait for us!' coming from behind him, only focusing on 'picking up' the others. Their houses weren't that far from each other, excluding Tieria's since it took a little more walking then the others. All he really had to do was go across the way to the second house on the right, and of course he didn't have to knock since he had found that his timing of things of that nature was rather impeccable. Upon reaching the house the door was quickly opened, a slightly irritated looking Hallelujah emerged dragging his brother behind him.

Setsuna had learned that there were three versions of the second oldest: the 'don't talk to me right now' Hallelujah, the 'I'm in a playful mood' Hallelujah, and the 'I've got something on my mind, so give me some space' Hallelujah. The one standing in front of him was the 'don't talk to me right now' version, and he no intentions of messing with him while in that mode. He didn't say anything as he walk out, yanking his brother forward so he could close the door properly. But before doing so the youngest managed to peer in rather quickly, catching a glimpse of someone asleep against the couch. It was a woman, and since the Haptism twins had never spoke of a sister of any kind he guessed that she was their mother. She looked fairly young to be a mother, but since it was such a quick look he really couldn't tell.

The five of them walked in silence, his husband whispering to him that everything would be fine once they had retrieved Tieria. It was so interesting…the behavior the second youngest exuded around the two Haptism boys suggested that something was going on between them, and by the way he always seemed to take Allelujah's side but deliberately arguing with Hallelujah to the point of physical confrontation seemed to say a lot. Could it be…? No…it couldn't be anything like that…

But he did notice that when all six of them were together everything was indeed fine; he took pleasure in being around them, even if the thought of betrayal was always looming, like some kind of sick shadow following him around waiting to strike. Maybe he was just being delusional but that feeling was real, even after having 'fun' with them over the past few weeks he couldn't shake it. Funny, wasn't it? No matter how much he wanted to change there was still something holding him back, and there would probably always be something hindering him from acting the way he wanted. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing to want freedom from one's self, at lest he thought, and wanting to be free just appeared to be one of those 'unobtainable things' to him at the moment.

Before they even set foot on the Erde family property, they saw the second youngest running towards them as if fleeing for some reason. As he stopped the youngest noticed that there was fairly large blush on his face, and he wasn't sure if that was due to running or other unknown reason. While panting he told them that someone was visiting his house, and that he was sorry for taking so long.

"Someone visiting? Then should you-"

"I-It's not important, so let's just go…" He quickly said, cutting Allelujah off. And that was that…when Tieria said enough was enough he meant it, and much like the house he lived in there was some sort of dark feeling behind it.

It wasn't wrong for people to keep things from other, and hell, he was no exception to that fact. His life and their lives were probably very different; there was always the family issues, that not everyone's was the same and not everything one did was seen as 'normal'. That was just one reason to hide something, but given their ages there weren't many logical reasons for why and what they would keep from plain sight. There weren't worse, more horrible explanations out there, but he dare not think about them in fear that they might actually be true. He might not have known the five people with him for too long, but he didn't wish for anything of that nature to befall any of them.

Nonetheless they left the past behind them, leaving whatever was ailing them at that single spot as they headed towards the festival. The thick space around them was gone, only leaving that recognizable 'let's have fun' feeling he was getting use to gradually. Fun was still a very new word to him, but he did understand that it was something he did like in his life. The five people he had grown accustomed to as well as the small village had grown on him, and he could still remember his words from the passed. How wrong he had been, saying that he would probably gain nothing from such a place. Change was an unalterable, inevitable thing that didn't care for age, place, or background. It was going to happen regardless of those things, and he was rather thankful it decided to thrust him into such a situations.

In a time like this he could finally see what everyone was wearing and it did surprise him to a certain point. Apart from the second youngest, everyone was wearing the same garment he was, the patterns and colors seemed to match their likes, personality and differences. The two Dylandy boys for example wore different colors (Lockon wore green while Lyle wore red) with small shapes that looked to be something along the line of bamboo, and right off the bat he knew that said colors were not only opposites but they also reflected the exact opposite of their personalities.

Green was supposed to be seen as a tranquil and calming color, but instead his husband was a ball of energy that never really seemed to calm down (unless they were having a moment or when he slept). Red on the other hand was supposed to be passionate, filled with fiery energy and excitement…that wasn't the other Dylandy. Now he wasn't saying he wasn't an 'exciting' person to be around, he was just really reserved to the point of being just flat out shy (that was probably his fault).

Both of the Haptism boys wore an orange version of the outfit, it having only simple lines at its pattern. Now he was no expect, but he did know his colors (come on, he was ten). Orange was made up of both yellow and red, and that pretty much summed up both Allelujah and Hallelujah were like. Subtle happiness and loud optimism, control and raging outbursts, 'good boy' attitude and 'mischievous little monster' (he heard someone call him that), all were pretty accurate at describing what the two were like. But it also was the fact that these two colors mixed, which could've very meant that the two got along better then people thought.

Tieria was the only one among them that was actually wearing a yukata, and with its dark purple coloring with flora pattern (his were cherry blossom petals) that dance wildly around it…he defiantly looked more relaxed. With purple came mystery, and the tense feeling he saw the second oldest have sometime only further fueled that trait. He really didn't want to pry, but it did disturb him slightly whenever the slightly older boy was in such a state. It was almost he was forcefully holding everything in and out of the light from everyone, most likely in fear of the repercussions if he let it out.

But like he said…he wouldn't pry…unless necessary that is.

"I-Is this it…?" The youngest asked as they stopped, eyes completely lighting up as they took in the sight before him. It really was an area lit with paper lanterns, stands filled with sweet treats and games, and as far as the eye could see…_**children**_.

"Yeah, so what do you think Set…su…chan?" The older boy started, but quickly stopped once he noticed the youngest hiding behind him. Setsuna didn't want to be there any longer, the joy he felt before coming had completely disappeared as soon as he laid eyes on all of the children around him.

He clung tightly to the back of Lockon's shirt, the memories of the past quickly flooding his mind rather quickly. There were just too many, far more then he originally thought existed in the small village. As they laughed and ran passed him he couldn't help but become increasingly stressed out, knowing that some kind of harm was going to come to him. They were going to hurt him, he knew it…it was just a matter of time. It would be just like before, and all he could do was take it. He was going to be abused once against and it would be his fault for letting it happen, because he was too scared to even look them. Burying his face in the older boy's face, he felt himself shaking slightly as a few more children passed him.

He felt like running, just getting away from that even at the cost of getting himself lost (he hadn't yet memorized the entire village yet). This was what he didn't want to happen, to be paralyzed with fear so much so that he couldn't think straight. He was so weak…to have his past haunt him for so long to the point where he couldn't function properly once reminded. He couldn't get over something like this, not that quickly, and the crippling fear he felt was driving him insane. The youngest didn't want to feel so helpless, like he was-

"SETSUNA, WOULD YOU LISTEN TO ME?"

How long had he been calling him? The youngest didn't want to look up at him, not when he knew his eyes were filled with so much dread. Feeling himself being pulled forward, he tried his best to keep holding him but it was no use. He dare not look around any long, keeping his eyes to the ground as he was once again pulled into a tight embrace. The youngest needed to go home, this wasn't 'fun' in the slightest and for sanity reasons he needed to leave. He wasn't going to change, was he? It was more 'couldn't' rather then 'wouldn't' since the pinpoint of his angst had not altered…the children that hurt him were still there, waiting to pounce on him like they'd done so many times in the past.

"They're not going to do anything to you…they're just kids, and they're not like the ones that hurt you." His husband said, holding him much tighter. He…knew? The youngest guessed that it was a rather easy deduction after hanging around him so much…but how long had he known?

"….What if they are…?" He asked as his voice practically dripped with anxiety, wincing as a group of children ran passed him.

"Then we'll protect you from them."

'We'll'? Did he mean all five of them would? Was that possible? Or for that matter would they even be willing? Finally deciding to look up he found the older boy giving him a reassuring smile, and with that the feeling came back again. He was such an idiot…but he couldn't help but feel some relief in the look he was giving him.

Apparently that was a signal for the others to join in, with the 'elder' Haptism adding that he wouldn't let anyone near him since 'he was the only one that could mess with him'. Tieria just slapped him in the back of the head, saying that something like that was very rude. Allelujah just laughed a little as he held his brother back, adding that he 'wouldn't let anything horrible happen to him'. The other Dylandy patted him on the head, his cheeks the usual bright cherry red as he told him that he 'liked him too much to have anything happen to him'.

Looking at all of them for a moment he thought to himself…These were the people he had surrounded himself with, that had stuck with him throughout the summer because they wanted to and not being they were forced to. He still felt afraid, but that feeling had gone down quite a bit after hearing what everyone had to say. This was…the family he agreed to be a part of, that odd little union he'd joined because it just felt right.

"We came here to have fun, so come on." Lockon said, taking his hand and leading him away. That's how the night went on; he stayed close to his husband and didn't stray, trying his best to ignore the many children around them.

Of course he couldn't help but react whenever one was near, him visibly tensing up or flinching away from them. He really tried to pay attention to the things the his 'friends' were doing, be it playing some kind of shooting game or buying some kind of snack, but his focus was purely on the people around him. Some of them looked the same age as him, and others looked a few years older. The youngest would be attending school with them the very next day, having them sit in the very same class as he did. What would they do to him? Write on his desk, saying horrible things about him? Put tacks on his shoes so at the end of the day he would get impaled by them? Put things down his shirt as he tried to pay attention to the lesson?

It was something he had gone through in the past, and he was sure he would go through it again. His mind wondered all over the place, and he knew the others noticed. No matter how good it felt, he knew the promises of protection were just words to comfort him from a fate he couldn't avoid. They meant well, but in doing so they were filling him with false hope. Hope…what a funny word…The youngest felt horrible about himself, feeling that he was reverting back to his old self the more he thought about things. Even if he did over think thing, even if he was completely wrong about his new school experience that hadn't even started yet…that _damn _thing inside of him was telling him that his new life was over.

It wasn't over, but the more it was repeated the more he felt it was true. His past would always catch up with him no matter what he did, making itself known because it knew along with that _thing _inside of himthat it could and would break him. He felt low, probably the lowest he felt since coming to the village…and that was saying a lot. Setsuna didn't want his new life to end since it was just getting started, it reverting to the old ways that caused him so much conflict. He was about to enter a very dark place if the thoughts inside of him didn't stop, and if he couldn't control them there was no telling what kind of hell he was going to put the older boy through.

"Setu-chan, here"

Luckily before they became any deeper, causing him to lash out against everyone, he was snapped out of them when something soft place against his neck.

"W-What is it…?" He asked as he looked over at the oldest, his mind refocusing on the fact that he was _still_ at the festival and not somewhere else.

"It's the scarf I just won for you! Do you like it?" His husband asked, loosely wrapping the fabric around his neck. This was…a gift? But not only was it a gift…it was a gift from his husband. A small token of his affection that could be looked at as nothing by others, but to the receiver it meant something. It had been the first thing the older boy had given him that was not soda, candy or playing cards. It was different, something he had physically won specifically for him.

He touched the soft crimson fabric to his cheek, noticing that it was fairly long, coming down to about his calf. The youngest didn't mind this, knowing that over time he would grow into it. Why shouldn't he keep it? If it was given to him by the person who said he loved him at lest fifty times a day, so why not please him just a little?

"…I like it." He answered truthfully, finding intensely pleasurable feeling overshadow whatever he felt prior to that moment. He was aware once more, that he was in the village at a festival with people that had not shunned him. The youngest was supposed to be having fun, not thinking about something that without a doubt caused him pain. He knew he was afraid of the people around him, afraid of what they might do to him that night and the next day.

He hated it…how he allowed his fear to eclipse the progress he'd made, and even if it was hard the youngest needed to try harder. It hurt when he looked at the people that were around his age, but he knew it would hurt even more if he let everything he'd worked so hard for to slip away in an instant. Reaching over he gently gripped the bottom of the older boy's shirt, telling him without words that he needed help…that he need him. This time around his internal struggle had completely rendered his logic useless, and he needed to hear from another human being that everything was alright. He was only ten…and because of this he knew that there was only so much he could do by himself. This person had said he would help him and he would hold him to that promise.

But now was not the time for that…tonight was a night where he would try to forget about all of that. Tonight was the night he would act like a child, and when tomorrow came it came. He'd never actually stopped himself from worrying about the future, but maybe if he did so for the next few hours (even in fear) he could see if doing do was worth it. His life was overly complicated, and that was most likely due to his mindset and past. However, he would push his over analytical side to the back and let go of whatever he held inside of him. It didn't matter if the feeling he was putting forth was false or real, he just needed to show for that one night.

"I mean…I like it for the cheap gift that it is." The youngest said, noticed Lockon suddenly grab his chest in quite the dramatic fashion.

"Ow, ow! I didn't know my cute wife had such expensive tastes!" He said, ruffling the younger boy's hair as he did so.

"Oh, Setsu," Hallelujah started, slinging his arm over the younger boy's shoulder's, "you see, when you're an Osaka boy something like that doesn't matter. Take Tieria for example, he'd probably taken anything from Allelujah if given the chance."

"S-Shut up you…damn lecher!" The second youngest screeched, a blush forming on his features.

"Well, I'll be seeing you guys later!" The 'elder' Haptism said as he began to run, Tieria right behind him as he fled.

"N-Nii-san, wait!" Allelujah cried, chasing after the two of them as they ran into the distance. Such an odd family he had. Much like the scarf around his neck, his husband decided to drape himself over him, wrapping his arms around his neck loosely. That was so not helping him at the moment…

The older boy told him that the three of them could still catch the beginning of the fireworks display if they hurried. Fireworks? _**In real life**_? The closest he'd ever gotten to such a spectacle was New Years back in the States, watching TV, both of his parents next to him. Where he lived couldn't host such an event, since that it was illegal to do so. But here…he would really be able to see them up close? He felt himself become slightly awestruck as he was taken away by the wrist, Lyle leading the way while his brother still clung to him as he followed. He didn't know where he was being taken, but as long as there were fireworks he didn't care.

What else had he missed out on in live? What else was there that a normal ten year old was supposed to be a part of? His frame of mind was not that of a child, but was that necessarily a good thing? Given his age, was it _really_ alright for him pretend to be something he clearly wasn't? To think himself different then others was foolish, but he wasn't ready to accept that truth just yet. Before he knew it he had once again gotten himself into a trance and needed to be shaken from it, which wasn't really a problem since the loud 'BANG' from the sky promptly startled the living the daylights out of him. The youngest jumped a little but found that he was sitting on the ground, so that little move only pushed him against the older boy's chest. He was just making the situation worse, wasn't he…?

However, he forgot all about that when another loud 'BANG' could be heard throughout the area. Looking up he saw the brilliant flashes go off one after another, the various colors lit the night sky completely. He'd never been those close to them, never had the pleasure of watching their beautiful flickers from such a distance. But there he sat, his husband holding him while his brother sat next to him, all three of them completely focused on bright lights that appeared one after another…or at lest he thought all three of them were.

"You know, this is first time I've seen Setsuna smile." Lockon said, quickly getting the attention of his brother.

"W-What? Setsuna's smiling?" He asked as he looked over at the two of them. Oh no…he wasn't _really_ smiling, was he? He hadn't preformed such an act in…hell, he wasn't sure. But why was he smiling? Sure he was enjoying himself, but was the really enough reason to smile?

"Yeah, it's really small but it's there," He said, holding the younger boy tighter, "That makes me happy."

"I-I am not smiling-"

"Don't be ashamed of it; if you like something you should smile, right? I mean, I like you a lot and I smile all the time!" He said as he rubbed his cheek against the younger boy's. Even as he pinched his husband's cheek he knew he was right; the act of smiling was not foreign to him, he just chose not to show anyone else (thus resulting in him not doing so for a while). It was just another trust issue he had to deal with, not wanting anyone to see any kind of emotion through the smallest gestures he made.

But he had been around this person so often, had already opened up to him to the point where it felt, dare his say it…_comfortable_. Setsuna felt that tight heat once against in his chest, it telling him that it was actually alright to show other things around this person without asking. A smile was a sign that he was happy, and that was not something he'd felt for a long time. Maybe a long time ago, when he was not around other children and it was just him and his mother and his father. The youngest didn't remember that time all that much, he was certain he was indeed blissful during that during it. Could something like that be repeated? If so he had a lot of work to ahead of him…

To change and to become happy were two different things, both dealt with the person he was while one of them was something he needed to work on by himself. Happiness couldn't be obtained through help; it was something that needed to be felt for himself, holding no one's hand as he looked for it. How funny…a few months ago he would've never had said such things, never have fathomed the idea of 'change', 'happiness' or someone being his husband. The world was an peculiar place, the unseen forces that inhabit it pulling and pushed the people that just wanted to get on with their lived. The youngest was thankful that the world had graced him with such sympathy, but with it would come hardships…he knew this…he understood this now. There needed to be a balance, so with good came bad and so on and so forth.

He would deal with the difficult times when they came, only hoping he could deal with them once they arrived. Setsuna would tell him everything when the time was right, when he felt his happiest. He didn't know how far off that future was, nor did he feel like thinking about it any further. He simply nodded to answer the older boy's question, watching as he laughed a little as he rubbed the sore spot on his face. He was such an idiot…but that stupid look he was giving him had grown on him.

They were both idiots now that he thought about it…an idiot husband and his idiot wife…made a lot of sense, didn't it?


	8. The 'I Don't Know' Chapter

Two minutes…it was two minutes before the time where what he was waiting for would be either early or late. That's the way things worked around this hour of the day, him waiting patiently while the clock just ticked away. He had been doing this for a while now, ever since he'd showed a bit _too_ much of himself to a certain someone. He didn't regret being that straightforward, since it was in his nature to do so. One's true nature, the 'person on the inside', whatever you wanted to call it he understood it much more then had during his childhood.

It was simple…but within that simple realm was a complexity he hadn't really expected. No one person could be just one thing, that was impossible and if they were they weren't human. Human nature was wrapped in layer upon layer of traits that took time to comprehend; it wasn't something someone realized overnight, like having a revelation of sorts and shouting 'I get it'. Even if one layer was discovered another would follow and then another and then another after that, so much so that there really wasn't any way to really see everything for what it was. Some people stopped after a while, either out of irritation or contentment with the person they had discovered so far. That was fine and all…but he didn't feel like stopping just yet.

Setsuna was only sixteen, and didn't that give him a right to continue forward? He still had a life ahead of him, one that he wasn't particularly interested in thinking about. What happened, happened, and that lesson had been drilled into him by the person that was currently asleep next to him. It really was amazing just how many life lessons could actually stick after so many years, and maybe it was actually do to the fact that he had fallen for said person. Yes…the youngest didn't think it would be possible, but it took two whole years for him from the time he was ten to come to that realization. God, he remembered that day so vividly, mainly because he thought he'd messed up so horrible on his confession that he felt like hiding in a corned until the end of everything.

Twelve was a horrible age for him, mainly because the person he called his husband had to start high school. He didn't like the idea of the older boy leaving town, even if his school experience was not the one he thought it would be. Setsuna had gone and stressed himself out over basically nothing, finding that the children that attended with him were _actually_ nice people. They did pick with him, but he could tell the different from playful teasing to just outright malicious behavior. It completely knocked him off kilter a little, since he was so use to being treated like, well, nothing whenever he attended school. This change had scared the youngest a little, since the good came with the bad something was waiting for him in future. But he didn't think about that at all as he went through his upper-secondary years…then the middle year finally rolled up.

It took him a full three days to realize that the older boy was not coming back to school, and even though he had three other people to converse with during the break period it still felt empty. He didn't want to get completely depressed over it, so Setsuna decided to do something to lessen the blow he was given. It was a small gesture, at lest to him, and his other reason for doing so was for heath reasons. Since high school started ten minutes ahead of the school in the village, he decided that he would make both his husband's and his brother's lunches since he had time. He'd been told that in high school there was a wide verity of things one could choose from for lunch, but he in no way trusted the two to actually pick anything, opting to skip the meal instead.

Not wanting them to do such a thing, he thought that if he made something they'd eat it (since he knew that both were incapable of cooking for themselves). Of course the youngest was right, so every morning he waited outside of his house for them, figuring out that they always rushed out of the house five minutes before their school started. He would always scold them, telling them that being late every day wasn't a good thing. But as always his idiot husband would give him that stupid smile and apologize. The feeling he didn't understand at the time always came back when gave him that look, and it wasn't until the end of the year finally came that Setsuna _fully_ understood it.

It was Christmas time, and for some strange reason everyone seemed to be bitten by the 'seasonal bug'…except him…or so he thought at first. He did like that time of the year, but only because it snowed (the free stuff was alright too). He was quite fond of it, dragging whoever he could get his hands our outside with him so they could play. The sight of white pieces of frozen water falling from the sky was appealing to him, the way it felt against his skin made him feel warm even if it was cold. His husband said that it match his personality, and not knowing if that was a good or bad thing he gave him a quick jab to the side. On that particular day he had been dragged into town by the second youngest who said that he had 'forgotten to buy something', which was just code for 'he needed to buy Allelujah a present'.

Without much hesitation he forced the oldest to come along with him, because if he was waking up _that _early he was going to bring someone along with him. It was seven in the morning and Setsuna really wanted to go back to sleep, but since he was asked by a friend on Christmas _goddamn_ morning he just _**couldn't**_ refuse. There was really only one shop open in town, but apparently it was the one the second oldest wanted to go into in the first place. Since the 'younger' Haptism seemed to have a liking for dogs it only seemed appropriate for Tieria to enter a toy store…he really didn't have to guess what the other was going to buy. The youngest and his husband stayed outside and waited, ignoring the cold weather that nipped at them. He heard the older boy say that his present was waiting for them back at his place, which made him glance over at him for a moment for the first time during the entire trip.

Other then tired, he'd woken up that day feeling…anxious about something. It felt like he wanted to do something but didn't know what, the urge only become more apparent when he was around the other boy. It was slightly annoying, him having to keep his focus on the ground upon their arrival since just the sight of him was driving him crazy. Setsuna didn't find out until the second oldest was done that he found the anxious feeling was want…as in he 'wanted to do something to the person he called his husband'. Now he wasn't the type to crave things, for example going insane because he didn't get his chocolate fix, but _something _was causing to want something _very_ badly…

It was obvious that he was visibly anxious on the bus ride back home, him crossing his arms as he ground the gum he parched before leaving between his teeth in a fast motion. It was a rather interesting thing he discovered out about himself, that whenever he was in need of deep thinking of that sort (i.e. something concerning another person) he would always chew gum. The youngest didn't care about the flavor just that something chewy was inside of his mouth so he didn't file his teeth away…that would just be horrible. He didn't look around, just ignoring the fact that he was being looked at since he knew neither of them we're going to talk to him while he was in said state.

His thoughts were sometimes not his best friend, but during that particular time they decided to cooperate with him. If it was something to do with the fifteen year old sitting next to him, then what could it be? Hitting him seemed out of the question, since his body already knew that it was only permitted to do such a thing if something idiotic came out of his mouth. So if it wasn't that…what the hell was it? He was going to thinking this through until they reached someone's house, be it his or his husband's. Saying that not knowing the answer to a something that didn't seem all that difficult was driving him crazy would be an understatement…it was more that he was about to kill someone because _**nothing made sense**_!

As they exited the bus the three of them said their goodbyes, Setsuna's arms still very much crossed and the gum still very much being crushed in-between his teeth. He barely noticed how the oldest had wrapped his scarf around the both of them as they walked home, it still big enough for two people to wear it without much complaint. But it had gotten smaller since he _was_ growing, but sometimes he really couldn't tell. The two of them were close as they walked, that warm feeling inside of him making itself known as his arm brushed up against the other boy's. That stupid awkward feeling did not mix well with the anxious one, and he felt his cheek begin to heat.

He'd tried to hide his face whenever that faint red color began to spread across his cheeks, always blaming it on the heat or cold if the weather was right. It had gotten progressively bad throughout the year, and the youngest really wasn't sure if he could control it anymore. Christmas time seemed to be the breaking point, and with all the joy in the air his body must've been responding to it. As they stopped in front of his door, he for some reason couldn't bring himself to open it. Setsuna needed to do something…he needed to turn around and say or do something before his head exploded with all the 'DO IT!'s' running around his inside. But what the hell was he supposed to do?

Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it! He just wanted it to shut up, and it wasn't helping that his husband was asking him if he was 'alright' from behind him, that word laced with the worry he knew so well. There was only a hint, but it just made the situation even worse (which he didn't think was possible). As he quickly turned around he vowed that he would not be responsible for whatever he did…but even though that seemed pretty reasonable, he knew he couldn't _really_ hold himself to it. Since he had already discarded his gum, it safely wrapped in its original wrapped in his pocket, he didn't get that awkward feeling in his mouth as he opened it. He heard the words come out, he heard the volume in his voice, but he did not know what he had said until a few seconds after the fact…and once he'd figure it out he clapped his hands over his mouth.

Setsuna had just shouted 'I love you!' to his husband…in _**English**_. What a confession! He didn't even know if his husband understood the language! God, he felt like dying right there, the completely blank look on the older boy's face just told him that he probably hadn't comprehended anything yet. Apparently when one gets desperate they do stupid things…which is what he did. Completely forgetting the fact that he had not opened the door, he quickly turned around and slammed himself against it, giving off a small high pitch noise once his face collided with it.

Great…just great, not only had the youngest said something in a language he wasn't sure the oldest knew, and had made himself look like a complete fool as he tried to escape. It was humiliation in its finest…He felt like crying so badly (the pain in his nose only added to it), but that action never took place as he was pulled back into an embrace. Setsuna heard the older boy say that he 'understood' and that he was 'happy'…so he knew what he had said? The next thing he did was he was also not _completely_ responsible for…as he reached up and actually kissed the oldest on the lips. He couldn't really help it…since his husband was giving him a look of pure joy that he just could not deny. At that time he was much smaller then he was, having to stand on his tippy-toes to actually reach him.

What was done was done, and from that point on the older boy's affections only grew. He didn't regret his actions that day (the door he did), only wishing that he had come off in a different, less painful way. But right now that didn't matter, the only thing that did was the ring that officially meant the start of his morning. He lied there against his futon, his chin resting on his crossed arms as he eyed the cell phone on the floor wearily, him desperately tried to will himself to fully wake up. He always woke up thirty minutes before he needed to, finding that he could get more done if he did so. The youngest did on occasion look over at his sleeping husband, someone he really couldn't refer to as a 'boy' anymore.

He was nineteen and with that age came a certain maturity of both body and mind…well more body then mind. That wasn't to say that he still acted like child since he had mellowed out slightly…but he did have his moments. But it was because he had not turned into a completely different person that the youngest found himself really loving him. Though that might've been true, his prediction about how he would show his own affections was correct; whenever he was touched or called something the youngest would always play it off, acting as if it was nothing even as his body reacted. He still couldn't bring himself to say if he liked something the other did, finding it far too embarrassing.

Giving off a little sigh he quickly grabbed his phone as it began to ring, knowing that he could not ignore it and knowing that he probably never would.

"Hello, Mom…"

She always called, never missing s day and only going over or under a minute each time. He couldn't blame her for doing such a thing, given his current situation he knew she couldn't help but worry. There were only two points in his life (so far) that he felt his worst in regards to the older male's 'educational transition', this being when he physically left one school and entered another. But he had dealt with both, the first being when he entered high school and the other bring when he attended college, by basically fitting his way into the older male's daily routine. High school was easy, all the youngest really had to do was stand outside and wait for them to pass…but college posed much more of a problem.

During their first week both his husband and his brother had admitted that the every day bus ride to said place was pretty tiresome, so they decided to purchase an apartment in the southern town since it was close and rent was cheap. This in no way sat well with Setsuna…Not. At. All. He didn't speak to either of them for two weeks, hiding out in his room unless it was time for school or if he needed anything. He basically yelled at the two of them from the other side of the door, saying that they were 'abandoning' him. The twins tried to make him come out, telling him that they were not forsaken him at all. Well hell, that's what it felt like! He was fine when they went to high school, since they _actually_ came back home after the fact. But the two never coming back? That was far too much…But the three of them did come to an agreement.

Setsuna was to move in with them (or rather with his husband since he and his brother did not share an apartment), allowing him to get that interaction he so desperately needed. He did hesitate at first, knowing that he would be leaving his family and friends behind, so he decided to run it by them before actually making a decision. With something this big it was necessary to consult the people involved, wanting to know just how they felt. Surprisingly the response was rather pleasant, his friends feeling that if he was getting so bent out of shape about not being around both boys then it was vital for him to go. His mother and father took their time though, but eventually they agreed that since he would be staying with the oldest and they knew nothing bad would happen if he was in his hands.

So that was that…he moved in with Lockon and was basically given the title of housewife and student. Now the first title was one he willingly gave to himself; his husband was still pretty useless when it came to cooking, so he made it his duty to prepare all the meals (mainly to wean both men off of the instant noodles they'd grown so fond of). All of that began last year during that twin's first year in college, and now that they were in their second he had officially entered into a daily routine that seemed to work.

Upon ending his conversation with his mother, he wiggled himself from under his husband's limp arm. The two of them slept in the same area, mainly because the apartment didn't have any rooms except for a small bathroom that didn't even have a shower. It was pretty much one big space, a small kitchen in the corner, an even smaller 'entertainment' area with a TV, and a few pieces of furniture that were brought out once their futons were put away. It was so different then what he was use to, but he adapted right away. The youngest wasn't the kind of person to complain about living space, only that his husband was there and that he had a roof over his head. Sitting up he stretched, knowing that it was about time to get things started.

He didn't wake Lockon up unless it was time for breakfast, to which he usually woke himself up by the smell. Both twins said they liked pretty much any and everything he made, and to that he couldn't help but muse over how well his cooking had come along. It was another interesting thing he'd found out about himself, the pleasure he received from performing such a simple task excited him slightly. He was on his way to becoming a genius conductor of the culinary like his mother, but he still needed to go much further. He could attempt to cook anything if given the right ingredients and time, him learning from his mother that with those two things plus talent anything was possible. The youngest had gone so far as to teach Tieria, but he turned down his help much to the horror of all five of them.

The second oldest couldn't cook…period. If he tried the result would be something inedible, and the five of them had to learn that the hard way (food poisoning was not a pleasant thing). The only thing the second oldest cooked that didn't send them to the hospital was chocolate, something the two of them only made once a year. It was a custom on Valentines Day that one, usually the female, would present chocolate to the one they loved, and the following month on White Day they males would do the same as a way of returning the favor. The two of them always made said confectionaries together, always a day before and always making some kind of mess. It was the only time neither the Dylandy nor Haptism twins were not allowed in the house (since both always cooked over at his place), in fear of them discovering what they were doing…even if they already knew.

Getting up he made his way over to one of the two closets they owned, the one he opened being the one they stored their clothes in. The other was used for the furniture and that being a kotatsu, a small heater for when it became cold (the kotatsu sometimes wasn't enough), a fan for when it became too hot, and various cleaning supplies. The apartment was cheap because some of the utilities were not given, such as heat, air-conditioning or a fully equipped bathroom. But that didn't bother them; Setsuna knew that the place would have probably been like that before he even moved in, and he also knew that everything they needed would be conveniently located a block or two away. That's how it worked, if it wasn't provided already you had to go and get it yourself.

Pulling out his uniform he made his way into bathroom, thanking the landlord for allowing them to have hot water. She was a rather nice person, and according his husband she had taken a certain liking to the three of them ever since he had arrived. That was noticeable by the way she always seemed to stop by once a week and give them something homemade. This was probably due to the older male telling her about their marriage or because she was from the same area in the States he was. But regardless she was a rather nice person to be around, and if anything she reminded him a lot of his mother. Even if the woman who had raised him was still very much alive, it was nice to have a motherly figure close by.

Flipping the lights on he closed the door and began to strip, knowing that once he was done breakfast needed to start. His mind set was always the same in morning: wake up, phone call, get clothes on, make breakfast, retrieve the other Dylandy, eat, make lunch, wait a little and then finally leave. After all of that was taken care of his mind was free to think about whatever it wanted, be it from the homework he missed (which was rare), the test that was taking place that day, or what he was going to do once school actually ended. But until that time he had things to do. With a quick wash he slipped his uniform on, reminding that he needed to wash clothes the next day. Opening up the medicine cabinet he quickly obtained both his toothbrush and the toothpaste, remembering the time he had accidently grabbed the older male's brush instead of his.

It was one of the _very_ rare mornings were he had woken up late, and not 'only had an hour to get ready' late but 'school was about to start in _20 minutes_' later. Both of them rushed, knowing that eating would be out of the question and hoping that Lyle knew that it was time to haul ass. The two of them crowded into the small bathroom, trying to get their clothes on and get whatever they could clean. It wasn't until he noticed the green plastic end of the toothbrush he was using did both of them freeze momentarily, obviously knowing that said act was much more then an involuntary kiss. Oh no…it didn't mean just it kiss, it was more along the lines of having someone basically French kiss you, tongue and all.

Needless to say Setsuna refused to look at the older male for the rest of the day, but without looking he knew there was an amused look on his face. Whenever the youngest did anything remotely romantic he knew Lockon loved every minute of it, mainly because he didn't do them as often as he did (meaning everyday). It was just harder for him…he really did want to be just as affectionate as his husband, but it just never came off that way.

Walking out of the bathroom, everything as clean as he could get it, he made it his way over to the small kitchen. Since he didn't want to get his shirt dirty he wrapped the apron that lay near the stove around him, and he knew once his husband woke up he would receive the 'what a cute housewife I have' comment that just never seemed to get old. It wasn't like he wanted to wear it, just fearing that he would get the _only_ school shirt he owned messy. Now he wasn't a sloppy cook, just throwing whatever around for the hell of it, but getting himself dirty was still very possible. Rummaging through the refrigerator he only found a carton of eggs and some leftover rice, so that meant that they were having omurice (fried rice wrapped in an omelet) and that he needed to go shopping.

Setsuna only made whatever was available based on what was in the refrigerator, and if there wasn't much he needed to improvise. Of course there were other things in there besides eggs and rice, but the other stuff was needed for lunch so he didn't touch it. Cracking a few eggs into the frying he had just place on the hot stove, he thought about what exactly he would make for the three of them. They didn't have that much left over, so what would they have? Onigiri (rice balls) seemed like something quick to fix if he started a new batch of rice right away.

But before he could think anymore about lunch the youngest felt two arms wrap themselves around his waist, pulling him back against a firm chest as a cheek rubbed itself against his. Yep…it was just another morning.

"What a cute housewife I have." The older male muttered, and it was obvious that he wasn't quite awake yet.

"Put the futons away then go get your brother." He said in a rather flat tone, acting as if he wasn't aware of being touched…he was aware. The youngest heard him give off a little 'I don't even get a good morning kiss?' to which he just told him to 'hurry up'. He would always do that to him, saying something that made him want to blush furiously. He'd learned how to control it over the years, but every once in a while he would just lose it.

When those times came Setsuna would stutter uncontrollably, the rather noticeable blush on his face not helping the situation at all. Every time he became like that the older male would comfort him and tell him that it was alright, that he didn't need to freak out every time he was embarrassed about such a little act. He couldn't help himself, since he was still sitting on that fence that would land him on the 'don't touch me at all' side or the 'I really like it when you touching me' side…and he was really leaning towards the latter.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see his husband doing what he was told, rolling up and placing both futon's in the closet. They couldn't very well pull the table out if the both of them were out, because there just was not enough room for it. Maybe if one was out, but not both. Finishing the first of three omurice he heard the door to the apartment open then close, letting out a little sigh as he hoped the other Dylandy was already up. Lyle lived across from the, so the trip was short and sweet depending on if he was up or not. Much like his brother if he did not wake up on his own it was a rather hard task to get him up, and shaking him was highly unlikely to work.

The two of them were still so different, from their way of behaving around him to their way of thinking. Even their appearance was slightly different, but at first glance the both of them looked exactly the same. The only true diversity between the two of them was their eyes, and only the people who had known them for awhile could tell them apart. Lockon's eyes held a more blue color then his brother's did, while on the other had Lyle's eyes held a more green color to them. He'd actually discovered this the time he decided to finally look the two in the eye (to separate times of course), and he found his discovery fascinating.

He he'd never actually admitted it to either of them, since it was probably already known to them, but he actually liked both colors quite a bit. His school bag was cerulean, the book he took his notes in was olive green, his toothbrush was navy, and his favorite bowl was a dark emerald. The only object he held dear that was neither color was the crimson scarf his husband had given him during the night of his first festival, the very same one he had won for him. If a hole appeared, he'd fix it. If an end became unraveled, he sewed it back together. If it was stained, he immediately washed it. He took cared of it like it was irreplaceable…because it was. Of course he owned other scarfs, but none of them compared to the red one that was his first official gift from the older male when they were younger.

He must've gotten himself in a slight trance while reminiscing, seeing that he had not noticed both Dylandy twins coming until he looked to find them looking at him, an pleasant look on both of their faces. Crap, he was blushing wasn't he? He quickly told the two to 'stop staring and set the kotatsu up', him going back to what he was cooking as he tried to completely get rid of the redness of his cheeks.

"So, what were you thinking-"

"What do you two want for lunch…?" Setsuna said, quickly cutting of the conversation he did not want to take place.

"Onigiri!" The two of them happily said in unison. Yep, whenever food was mentioned the two seemed to completely forget about their train of thought…which did come in handy on occasions. But it was a good thing the two had decided on something he was already going to make.

Once he was finally done he brought the three plates over and set the table, placing a bottle of ketchup in the middle before returning right back to the mini kitchen. The youngest didn't have time to take a break; he could take one when the rice was cooking, which would take about fifteen minutes plus another ten to let it rest.

"Aw, you always work so hard, Setsuna-chan. You should let us help-"

"No, I don't want the apartment complex burning down."

"But we've gotten better…"

That wasn't a lie. The two of them had actually gone from not being able to cook to mediocre at best, and that was saying a lot for the two of them. But for caution's sake he chose to not let them help him, not really wanting to take a chance. Besides, he had everything taken care of. He knew where everything was, what needed to go into this and that, but many more people in the kitchen meant more mess and confusion. The youngest knew the two understood, which it why they always backed off when said topic was brought up and shot down. After finally finding the rice maker and loading it up, he set the timer and went over to the table. Upon sitting he saw that the kanji for 'love' had been written on his omurice in ketchup.

Now it wasn't an uncommon thing for people to draw things in such a dish, even he was guilty of picking up the ketchup bottle and trying to make a masterpiece once or twice. It wasn't _really_ playing with your food, so he was alright with it. Setsuna didn't look up at them, not wanting to acknowledge their usual playfulness that didn't seem to care if it was morning, noon, or night. He had to deal with it everyday, but special events were the worst. Valentines Day, White Day, his birthday, Christmas, New Years, and festival they could go to, all caused the two of them to act much more 'loving' and there really wasn't anything he could do about it. He didn't mind, blaming partially on the season and partially on their usual clinginess.

And yes, he did mean that both of the Dylandy twins were clingy. Lyle had surprisingly grown out of his shyness around him, the other Dylandy acting a little more like his out-going brother. Now he hadn't turned into a carbon copy of the other male, and if he had there would've been a little trouble on the younger male's side. Two Lockon's would've been a bit much; Setsuna actually liked the twins _because_ they were different, so he really didn't know what he would do if they acted exactly like the other.

The three of them engaged in idle chit-chat, or rather the youngest listened as the other two talked. He wasn't much for conversation in the morning, since he still had quite a bit to do before his mind could wander. He listened as the two talk about college, if they had completed whatever homework that was given to them and if not how pissed off the professor would be. The two of them seemed content with their school like, which was a nice thing considering he was in no way content with his. Upon hearing the 'beep' come from the rice maker, he got up and went over to the refrigerator, knowing that the machine would turn itself off to allow its sticky contents to rest.

Now that he had actually decided on lunch, he needed to fill the rice balls with something. They had purchased a small container of kimchi the other day, so he decided to go with that. Taking it out he placed it in the microwave for a few seconds, finding the device very useful. Most chefs would look down on him for even touching the small metal box, but he couldn't very well make kimchi from scratch in such a small apartment (or at all for that matter). Scooping a little rice out of the rice making, the thought that he could've so easily bought onigiri from the nearby convenient store instead of making it did occur to him. But the twins had told him that they liked it best when he made it, and actually having them say that made that little feeling inside of him reappear.

He liked the heat inside of his chest, it just reminded him that he actually did care are about the two people sitting that the table behind him. Without them he'd be lost, and without his friends he didn't exist. The five of them were part of his existence, and without them he wasn't sure if he could be happy with his life.

Life…Life had been alright to him over the years, he was more then content but he wasn't sure if he was completely happy. As he started to shape rice into little triangles, the kimchi safely inside, he overhead the two start to talk about the weather. Ah, that was right…since it was getting so close to fall he needed to change his uniform. He had _technically_ been given two uniforms from the school he attended, one for spring and summer and one for fall and winter. The one he was currently wearing, consisting of nothing more then a white, short-sleeved, buttoned up shirt with dark blue slacks, was his summer uniform. Since autumn was right around the corner he needed to pull out the jacket that went along with the outfit, which actually did keep the cold out.

Both Lockon and Lyle had unintentionally picked a college that required them wear pretty much the same thing, but the jacket was year round. All six of them had attended the same high school at one point, it starting with his both Dylandys, both Haptism twins, and Tieria. Once Lockon and Lyle left he entered as a first year, and once he and the second youngest became third years Allelujah and Hallelujah left. Setsuna had actually skipped his second year, the school apparently finding that it was 'not necessary for him to participate in'. It was just their way of saying he was smart enough that he didn't need it, and maybe that's where his troubles started…

"You two should start getting ready." He said, trying to refocus on the task at hand.

"I left my stuff over here, right?" Lyle asked, getting up and walk over to the closet.

"Bottom shelf."

Whenever the other Dylandy came over for dinner he always left something behind, so Setsuna just decided to make a shelf for him. The top one belong to his husband while the middle belong to him since…well…it was the only one he could he could reach without looking like a child trying to reach for something too high for them. He had noticed that out of the six of them he was the shortest, and as much as he wanted to say it was an age thing he really couldn't anymore. The other five had caught on very quickly that the 'height issue' was never to be brought up, no matter the place, time, or atmosphere. He had unconsciously developed a glared that, if directed at someone, would instantly shut them up. _No one_ liked that look, so _no one_ brought it up.

Once Lyle had collected his things, he left saying he would be back in ten minutes. That was about the same time it took his husband to get ready, so he found that to be a good thing. Given their time, the three didn't have to rush to the bus stop in the slightest, instead taking their time. The two didn't have to take the bus anywhere since the building they needed to go to was already in the town they were in, the two just liked to walk him there and wait until the bus actually came. He didn't mind the fact that by living in the southern town it just made his commute to school longer, it just gave him more time to think. Besides, it wasn't all that bad; since the bus had to go through the village, that meant Tieria needed board seeing that they were heading to the same place.

It was nice to have someone to talk to, but the two did interact during lunch. It was a little lonely without the Haptism twins around, since the four of them always ate lunch together on the roof. But since the two of them had left he noticed a slight change in Tieria's behavior; he would still talk, but it wasn't as loud or fun filled as it use to be. He could understand…for the first few weeks he couldn't get over the fact that if he had entered just one year earlier he could've been with both his husband and his brother. It irked him somewhat…knowing that he was always one step behind the two. The youngest knew that following them everywhere was unreasonable, but there was a time in the day where his sanity was on the line…and he really didn't think that he could take much more.

The youngest watched as his husband mimicked his brother and retrieved his uniform, walking into the bathroom once done. Locating the bento boxes he began to load them up with the newly made onigiri, putting three in each of them and slipping the top on. Now that lunch was done all he needed to do was wait for the Dylandy twins to finish. Quickly grabbing his bag, over the shoulder of course, he placed his lunch inside of it and once the two finally came back he would give them theirs.

"Oi, you have a test today in tech today, you better have studied." He said, knocking on the bathroom door.

"Aw, come on! You know I like that class, so of course I studied." His husband said from the other side of the door. That was a partial lie. He knew the oldest liked the class, but that just gave him more of an incentive to sleep through it or not take notes. But that was something he couldn't really help with, only hounding him that he needed to study harder. Setsuna did on occasion help with homework, his understanding of it going just a little further then someone his age.

He was by no means a genius, only someone that could figure out things a little faster then others. But even with that there were still a few 'normal' things he had yet to understand or experience. For example he had actually never traveled outside the area he'd known since moving to the village, only gracing there and the two towns. He knew there was life outside of what he'd known for so long, and it really wasn't a matter of if he was afraid to do so. The youngest did think about travel, but he just had too much to do to even consider it. Hell, even Lockon had admitted he'd never been to the beach before, and that made him think that maybe he could let up just a little on himself so they could go.

Of course he would invite the others, because they too had never graced the 'outside'. The six of them, if given the chance, did everything together and that had been that way for years. But there was a small problem…Since his cousin had moved in, the second youngest seemed to have a harder time leaving his own house, him confessing this to him earlier in the year. He really did worry about him…not only did his family not sit well with anyone, but with this new addition to his household it seemed like whatever Tieria was hiding was finally eating away at him. However, no matter how much he wanted to…he wasn't allowed to tell Allelujah or Hallelujah about his concerns.

Since the second youngest knew something about him, something he'd been keeping from his husband for a long time, the two had sworn never to tell another soul about their issues…particularly the people they considered close to them. He knew it was wrong to keep something like this from people, but the two didn't want to trouble them with petty problems that could be taken care without help. However, second youngest wanted to tell his husband since Setsuna's problem was much more open then his…but he didn't allow him to.

Once the oldest emerged from the bathroom, he ruffled his hair to which he just swatted his hand away. It was too early for that…Lockon just chuckled a little, reminded him that this was his husband's personality and nothing could change that. Mellowed out or not, he was still the kid he met six years ago that stole his first kiss on their _first _meeting, that was so clingy and loud and kind. People changed with age, that was a fact of life, but it was to what extent that change occurred that didn't seem to affect him all that much. Yes, he was different, but it wasn't that noticeable unless you really paid attention…and that pretty much went along with the Haptism twins.

Those two…they were still so different from the other, and the only thing that really changed was Allelujah becoming just _a little_ more accepting of his brother's antics. School was much more enjoyable with those two around, the four of them eating lunch together on the roof as they engaging in meaningless talk about damn near anything. At the time there wasn't anyone in his class he knew, so it was a nice feeling to just unwind and talk. Lunch was forty-five minutes long, about as long as each class, and for him it felt like a lifetime until over. Of course he thought about what Lockon and Lyle were doing while he was up there, because if those two weren't somewhere on his mind something was wrong.

The very distinctive rhythmic knock on the door told them that it was time to go, but before that he was pulled forward and given the usual 'kiss before opening the door'. Without much hesitation he pushed him back slightly, finishing the little ritual by adding that it was 'too early'. The two always did this, it just being another show of how much the other cared about him. But it really was too early for them to be playing around, which is why he always pushed him away. Maybe in the afternoon when he actually needed it, but not in the morning when all three of them needed to be somewhere…did he mention he wasn't _really_ that much of a morning person?

"You're still so mean, Setsuna-chan." He said, wrapping his arms around his waist.

"And you're still an idiot." The youngest replied, pushing him away once more and opening the door. The three of them finally left, Setsuna now allowing his mind to wander while the twins began to chat it up. He just needed to get to the bus and then his 'school day' would start, which was a completely different part of his day. The younger male's 'normal day' began the moment he woke up to the moment he bored the bus, then it resumed the moment he left the bus in the afternoon. Aside from homework, his school days did not intersect with his normal day…and he made sure of that.

Shoes were always taken off at the front of the apartment, so they quickly slipped them on once they reached the first floor. His husband's and his brother's room were located on the second floor, so the walk down wasn't long. That went long with the bus stop, it was located relatively close to the building and he thanked Lockon's good decision making skills. He could've so easily gotten one of the more expensive apartments, the ones where everything was provided for them…but then they wouldn't have learned how to fend for themselves. When everything was handed to one, it was rather hard to walk out into the world and say 'I'm ready'. Even if he had partially entered the world a little early, he was learning how to work things on his own.

He really was a housewife, wasn't he…? He cooked, he cleaned, and he basically did everything so the oldest didn't have to. He did offer to him every time he took on some kind of task, and he allowed him to help about 50% of the time. Setsuna knew he meant well, but he just wanted to try this 'living without parents' thing by himself a little. It was pretty much impossible for him to deny that he was close to the people that had raised him, but this was a test to see if they had done so correctly. It wasn't enough to just say 'I love them, so therefore I'll be fine', no, he needed to leave even if it was early. Most people his age were happily living at home while being catered to, but then again, most people couldn't say that they were married to a nineteen-year-old they'd known since they were thirteen.

The youngest acknowledged it…that he was married, that he had a husband, and that he was young. But saying that he was 'young' did _**not**_ make him a child. He had been a child at some point in his life and he had done some rather childish things in his life, but as of now he was not one. Lockon sometimes called him one, but he just ignored the older male because he knew he was wrong.

Just as they came upon the bus stop they found the vehicle already there, and with that he gave the two them a quick goodbye before running for it. They had left a few minutes earlier then they usually did, so this was probably the one he always missed. The bus he needed to take only had four stops, the southern town, the village, the northern town and the train station. But just as he got up to it he stopped himself, realizing just _why_ he chose to miss said bus everyday. Why get himself to a place much earlier if it was not necessary?

"What happened? Why'd you stop?" His husband asked as he caught up with him.

"…I didn't want to take it…Tieria won't be there." Setsuna blatantly lied to the older male, having really nothing else to say. The second youngest was always there, always waking up twice as early as he did and was always at the bus stop way before he needed to. The 'younger' Haptism told him he had always been like that since the day he started high school, always wanting to be the 'early bird' when it came to travel.

The three of them took a seat on the bench near the stop, him sitting in the middle of the Dylandy twins just like he always did. He'd found that the two would sometime whine if he sat solely next to the other, saying that their brother was 'hogging him'. So he always say in-between them no matter where they went, just to make sure he wasn't treated like an object. God, he hated when they fought over him...even if it didn't happen often (maybe once or twice a year when they were younger), he couldn't stand it. The youngest had to punch them both, basically telling them that he was not a piece of meat and if they did not stop he would devoice Lockon and leave Lyle.

Of course he didn't mean it…but the empty threat seemed to work, since their meaningless squabbles had turned into them whining every now and then. But that was the relationship they shared, Lockon was his husband while Lyle was more of a boyfriend. He liked the both of them and didn't feel like choosing, since he found it rather irrelevant at this point. If he wanted to push one of them out of his life, it was far too late since he and the two of them had become so close. He didn't care what others thought (another lesson drilled into him) about his relationship with those close to him, but there was a line that just couldn't be crossed…

Once the next bus finally came (the wait was never a long), he once again said he goodbyes but not before both cheeks were kissed by both Dylandy twins. He couldn't help but give out a little sigh…what was he going to do with them? Calling them both the usual 'idiots', he boarded the bus and watched as they disappeared into the distance, a sight Setsuna wasn't sure he'd ever get use to. He knew he was coming back, but he always worried that his sanity would somehow not come home in tact one day…

* * *

His mind was blank…it always was around this time, and he could only wearily stare up at the ceiling as his right arm rested against his forehead. The dingy little couch he lied against still felt comfortable after so many years, and for his tired body it was a godsend. This place was a safe haven, and he and his husband regularly stopped by, spending more then a few hours there. He didn't knew why the enclosed area put him in such ease, it probably having something to do with the fact that only he, his husband, and Lyle knew it's location.

It was a hide away…hidden from all of those that caused him harm. The years of kindness from the students in the village had spoiled him, making him think that things had changed…that kindness was only building up the malice in the world around him. It started out slow…small things getting thrown at him, the occasional trip during gym…nothing big. He merely ignore all of this, finding it childish and something he really shouldn't have worried about…Then he skipped his second year and entered his third…everything that happened to him during his first year was nothing more then a warm up. He originally thought the torture he'd gone through as a child was harsh…but he apparently didn't know what the meaning of 'harsh' was at the time.

His desk completely marked up, trash stuffed in all the open areas. Notes completely written all over, the book the youngest took them practically destroyed beyond recognition. Caterpillars, yes _caterpillars_, where somehow obtained from the science room and shoved down his shirt while he tried to concentrate on taking (or retaking) notes. Since he was at school it was required for him to leave his shoes in a small (not lockable) locker, which basically left them open for attack…and they were. Tacks, more caterpillars, jelly, all were things he found in them once it was time to slip them back on. And then there was the whispering…it wasn't paranoia because he knew it was all about him. Setsuna could never hear them clearly, but there would always be giggles that went along with those small noises.

But above all else he did _**not**_ tell Lockon about any of it. It was the thing the second youngest was not allowed to tell the older male, and of course he was worried seeing that they were in the same class. It was something he needed to deal with, and dragging his husband into it just wasn't an option. He kept the sickly feeling to himself, never sharing it with another in fear of the worst. Setsuna really was two different people…the person his husband knew at home and the person Tieria knew at school. He knew which one was a lie, but it was that lie that kept him from completely cracking in school.

Looking over he found his husband at the still stable desk, Setsuna ordering him to finish any kind of homework he had been given that day the moment they arrived there. He did work hard when he was told to, yet in the end he came out with mediocre grades. The older male didn't seem to mind, saying that he would pull out all the stops when it was the right time. That just meant when final exams would come around he would cram for at lest three days straight, barely getting any sleep during that time. It was nice that he was trying so hard, but if he fell asleep during the actual test it completely canceled out whatever he had done prior to that moment. His husband was still so confusing…

His cheek gently brushed up against the crimson scarf he was currently wearing, making him move ever so slightly. He always took it to school with it, but he wasn't worried about it being taken by someone because they first needed to know where to look if they wanted to find it. His bag was big enough to hold much more then was necessary, and one day while pouring everything out he realized that the rectangular piece of plastic that made the bag's bottom stay completely flat was removable. Once it was removed there was quite a bit of space left over, making it a good place to hide something.

His actual notes along with his scarf were safely secure there, no one ever discovering them. It calmed him down a little to know that something he held dear was close by, just in case he suddenly had a panic attack. The youngest had never actually had one before, but the threat was still very much there. Holding in so much was going to get to him someday, allowing a crack to form on the tough exterior he put up while at school. If that ever happened there was no tell what he'd do, not even sure if the red piece of cloth could get him out of such a state.

"Oi, your culture festival is coming up soon, right?" His husband said, breaking through the silence that had settled in the air.

"I guess so…" He muttered in a rather bored tone, redirecting his attention back to the ceiling.

"Do you want me to come this year?" He asked, spinning around in his chair, and obvious attempt to try and ditch his work. Setsuna stayed silent, contemplating if it was a good idea or not. The yearly culture festival was just an excuse for the school's students to show themselves off and just have fun. There was food, games, music, and among all of this each class was supposed to design a theme for their room. During his first year his theme was the early 1900's, so he had to wear a tux given to him by his father and refitted by his mother. Since everyone had come that day, everyone had something to say: both Tieria and Allelujah said he looked proper, the 'elder' Haptism said he looked like a butler, and of course the Dylandy twins just had to add that he was not only a butler but a '_kawaii shitsuji_'.

He spent the reminder of the day repeating 'I hate you all' under his breath, feeling so completely embarrassed to the point of blushing…hard. He hated it when they called him cute! 'What a cute wife I have' fine, but nothing else! It was just one of those triggers that made him lose it easily, and that feeling in his chest would not go away until he finally calmed down. So with that in mind, was it really alright for his husband to come? Given how much had changed, how much his every move was being monitored at school…was it alright? It actually did matter what they saw…

That last thing he wanted to do was give them more fuel, having something so simple as an outing with his friends twisted around then thrown at him as hateful ammo. That was the line…the people he'd spent so much time with were not to be used against him, and it didn't matter the severity of the comment because he was going to go off regardless. That was a place that no one was allowed to tread upon, since they had _zero_ knowledge of his past and therefore didn't know just how he felt about them. The people close to him weren't play things, something that could be manipulated for the amusement of children who didn't give a damn about his well being. That's all they really were…children.

Setsuna felt the weight of the couch change, and when he saw his husband come into view he looked away slightly. He always felt guilty for lying to him…Something inside of him always felt like breaking whenever those false words come out of his mouth, a dirty feeling overtaking him since he knew what he was doing was wrong. But he always kept a straight face…it never faulted, never weakened only staying in place to hide what he was truly feeling.

"I wanna see your theme this year, since the last time you looked really cute." Lockon said as he sat on the edge of the old piece of furniture, right hand placed near his right side so that he was basically leaning over him. He was trying to make him react…his did this kind of thing to him often, slowly getting closer to him while he examined the smallest movement he made.

How perceptive his husband had gotten over the years…he knew the older male noticed everything he did, yet acted as if he didn't. It was another reason he needed to keep his poker face so strong; if a small hint was ever given in his expression, a tiny glimpse into what he held back then it would be over…everything would be pieced together. But the older male wouldn't bring it up until he was sure…until he knew for a fact that what he had found was the truth. This truth would hurt him…to know that the person he loved so deeply was once again being treated like trash. However…in the event that he actually did find out…there was nothing he could do about it.

He just turned his head to the side, now staring at the part that made up the back of the couch. The youngest could try to hide as much as he liked, but there really wasn't much escape from this. He could feel his hot breath on his neck now, and with that action there wasn't any turning back. For some strange reason over the years Lockon had developed an odd attraction to his neck. It really started when the older male was fourteen, and the day in question just happened to be Halloween. It was Setsuna's second Halloween in the village, and it would be the first time he actually decided to go trick-or-treating. The first time the six of them just stayed inside and watch scary movies, having them rented from the local video store.

He learned a little something about everyone that night…for starters the second youngest was apparently very squeamish, him spending most of the night hiding behind Allelujah and peeking over his shoulder. They tired asking it he'd like to see something a little less horror filled, but he always responded with 'I'm fine' when he _clearly_ wasn't. On the opposite side of the spectrum was Hallelujah, who seemed so completely unaffected by whatever they watched. The second oldest even went so far as to laugh during certain parts, which only made Tieria flinch more. The Dylandy twins said they weren't afraid, but from the way they clung to him tightly it was obvious that that was a lie.

It was nice of them to try and act unflinching for his sake, not wanting to scare him with their fear. But really…Setsuna hadn't really done all that much as he watched, turning away every now and then if he didn't want to witness something. He knew what he was watching was fake, and he also knew that if he really wanted to enjoy the vast amount of horror movies he needed to suspend belief of what was 'real' and what was 'fantasy'. But seeing how the others acted he chose against it, opting to see it as the form of entertainment that it was.

But the year following that the six of them decided to actually leave the house. His husband said that it was a good opportunity to meet everyone in town, seeing that everyone liked going or receiving trick-or-treaters. But in going out he was required to 'dress up' in a costume, something he'd never done before. Truth be told he had actually never gone trick-or-treating, there being far too many children on the streets that night for him to even consider dealing with it. At that time he still saw them as a threat to his existence, and the best solution was avoiding the situation before it actually turned into anything. But he was in the village and that was partially in the past at that time, so he asked what he should go out as.

Lockon said he should go as an angel since he was so 'sweet', and that earned him a quick jab to the side. The other Dylandy suggested a mummy since it was so last minute, and that made him think that he had _a little_ more sense then his brother. So he wore all white as he was wrapped in a soft cloth that resembled some out of a first aid kit, but he didn't question it. His husband went as a vampire, teeth and all, and if that didn't give him some hint as to what would be in store for him later on that…he didn't know what was. Lyle went as a ghost was simply wore a white headband with small triangle on the front of it, and adding a not entirely white, too long kimono with it really did make him look the part.

Both Allelujah and Hallelujah dress up as 'werewolves', but they could've easily been dogs since they only wore ears and paws. The second youngest joked that Hallelujah needed a leash so they could chain him up in the backyard, and of course that resulted in him being chased around in his witch outfit, the 'elder' Haptism howling all the while. They didn't stop them because, hell, if you ever saw such a sight, would you? Once the two of them finally calmed down they left, and for such a small village Setsuna was pleasantly surprised to find so many people living there.

Children, adults, there were quite a few of them as the six of them went from door to do asking for a 'trick' or 'treat'. By this time in his life he had grown quite fond of anything sweet, and he seriously thought it had developed into a minor addiction. His fondness only fueled his urge to continue on into the night, meeting people he'd never seen before and collecting piece after piece of candy. He did like the village…he liked it much more then the city, and since he'd met just about everyone that night the youngest felt safe. Everyone needed to feel that in their surroundings, that they didn't have anything to fear from the people around them. For him to feel that around others was quite the feat, and it was another thing that came along with his change.

Once they had circled around the entire village it was time go back home, so he rode the way on his husband's back since he was tired…but there was a catch. Before he was allowed to hitch a ride he had to promise he would let Lockon have a 'drink' once they returned, and the youngest, not understanding at the time, agreed. He really should've walked…Setsuna clung tightly to him, all the while thinking what the oldest meant by 'drink'….and just why he heard snickering from the others as they walked. They had juice boxes at his place, right?

But upon reaching the older boy's house he didn't ponder over the hidden meaning of his words any longer, just wanting to sit down and rummage through the rather large bag of goodies he had collected throughout the night. It was probably the longest he'd ever stayed outside during such an hour, and he found the whole thing rather enjoyable. The thought of doing it again next year did occur to him, but it was rather hard to focus when his husband was licking his neck. Yes, _licking_ his neck…At first he was too stunned to actually move, so he just waited and allowed the older boy to continue. But apparently that wasn't the correct action since a few seconds later he started to _suck_ on it, making him completely stiffen up.

It took his mind a full ten seconds to comprehend that he was being _sucked on_ by his husband, and during those ten seconds the word 'drink' was finally associated with what the oldest was wearing. His mouth was on his neck…his mouth was on his neck, sucking on him like some kind of creature of the night…he understood. He was sticking too closely to the character he was masquerading as, and with this he promptly turned around and slapped him, calling him a pervert in the process. Without missing a beat, the older boy reminded him that he had agreed to let him 'have a drink', and Setsuna being the kind of person who also did not miss a beat called him a pervert and slapped him once more.

He did apologize to him, but from that day on the liking to his neck only grew. It didn't get especially bad until he entered high school, and then that part of his body was treated like some kind of sweet treat that was to be savored for at lest a few minutes each day. The oldest licked it, kissed it, nipped at it, but _never_ out rightly bit him. Setsuna hated it at first, thinking that the older male was just messing with him because he felt like it. But…over time he didn't mind it as much, finding out that his husband was not messing with him but once again showing his affection in a way the youngest wasn't use to. He thought the kissing and hugging together were as physical as the two of them would ever get, but he was proven wrong when this newly added action was inducted into their daily routine.

His breath hitch slightly as those all too familiar lips were gently pressed against the crook of his neck, the youngest still acting as if he didn't feel anything. The hand that was placed beside him was now gently squeezing his shoulder, pulling him closer to the older male. He closed his eyes and allowed his body to emit any sound it wished, not caring if the other heard. The younger male had gotten use to this, use to what his body felt whenever it was touched in such a way. Setsuna had learned that his body was much more sensitive then he thought, or rather certain parts were. There was no telling just how many spot could put him in such a state, but since he had not 'explored' himself at all he would leave that topic alone for a while…and stop his husband from exploring for him.

"HANDS!" The youngest growled loudly, making the older male's stray hand that was making it's way down his stomach completely come to a halt.

"Sorry, it has a mind of its own, really-"

"Y-Yeah, I know…" He said as he sat up, rubbing the spot Lockon had previously been kissing, "Did you leave a mark…?"

"Did you want me to?"

He did actually…Setsuna didn't know why but he in reality liked it whenever the older male made a mark on his neck, and it really had nothing to do with 'marking one's territory'. His husband couldn't be around him all the time, he knew this, so it was just nice to have something physically on him that reminded him of the older male. Though he had his scarf, he couldn't physically put it on. School wasn't too much problem, since the shirt he wore always seemed to cover the marks made by the other. But even if there was much of one there was still a problem…Right before gym he was required to change into the correct attired in his classroom, and he thanked god that his desk was located near the back.

There was no way he felt comfortable changing in front of people he didn't know well, and that was one of the many things that were different about the school in the village and high school in the town. During his younger years their physical activity was their break period, where everyone would run around wildly to release the energy that had been storing up during their educational period. That was fun…what was _**not**_ fun was when he was told he had to change in front of people he didn't know. When he went back home on the first day he jabbed Lockon in the side for 'not warning him at all'.

He never got use to it…and with the added pressure of hiding the small love-bites on his neck it only made him feel more uncomfortable. They were indeed small, and they could've been easily mistaken as bug bites at first glance. However, since they were basically in the same spot each time there wasn't any way he could deny what they were. It was a small price to pay for allowing his husband to mark him, but at the end of the day those people didn't matter and the only thing that did was that he came home to the people who cared for him.

Upon feeling the weight of the couch change again, the youngest leaned back a little against his husband's firm chest, the two repeating the same position that had when they were younger. Why should they stop? It had been around since the two of them met, and there really wasn't any good reason from them to cast it away. Within such a position, the older male behind him, his arms wrapped around his waist as his cheek gently rubbed against his, he felt safe. Setsuna was supposed to feel safe, right? He'd been with this person for years, so if he didn't feel safe didn't that tell him that he needed to get the hell out of there? Since his body was not telling him that he stayed and didn't complain…not that he was the kind of person to complain to begin with.

"So you're still not ready yet?" Lockon asked, his mouth now back on his neck.

"O-Of course not! I-I mean…I don't know…I m-mean…" He began to trail off, not completely sure just what his mind wanted to say about such a subject. Touchy…that was the best way to describe what the older male had brought up. The two of them were married and they were young, and with both of those things came something…physical. With that physicality came an urge that was sometimes hard to control, and the youngest wasn't sure if he should give into something like that. He thought about it from time to time, but actually giving in required him to open up much more then he ever had. Maybe it would not have been so bad…

If he wasn't a _virgin_…The two of them, no, the three of them, hell, all _six_ of them were as far as he knew. Losing something he wasn't even made aware of that he had until he was thirteen was a big deal, and given the _kind_ of virgin he was it only made things worse. There were three types he'd come to find out, one of body, one of mind, and one of body and mind. The first consisted of a pure body, one that had never 'gone all the way' (according to the definition) and allowed for the mind to be tainted by the many temptations of the world (internet, TV, so on and so forth). Purity of mind was a little tricky…one's mind still needed to hold that childlike innocent yet the body had to have gone through…certain things.

The last and final was the one he was…being a virgin of both body and mind meant that his mind still held the basic knowledge it needed, but at the same time lacked the outside influence that made him find such actions not so damn embarrassing. His body was still technically 'pure' regardless of how much his neck was treated like a lollipop, since he had not yet been touched, er, _down there_. That was his major trigger…any mention of sex would send his mind into embarrassment overload, especially when it came to the topic of 'having sex with your husband'. He couldn't talk about it…not without blushing uncontrollable and having his full attention on the ground. It was the only thing that could break the façade he'd put up so easily, as if it was nothing more then a flimsy piece of nothing.

That's what people around his age did, right? That's what married people did, right? Why shouldn't he? The mere thought of him involved in something like that made his heart nearly stop, the blush only deepening. Lockon never actually pressured him into making a decision, saying that no matter how long it took he'd wait. Of course being the young man that he was he could see the slight desperation in his eyes, and that just made him feel worse about the whole thing. His reason for not making a decision was not to make the older male desperate, to make him hold himself back for his own amusement. The youngest did not play with people like that…he just didn't know the answer to the question, and the question was 'do you want to have sex?'

His breath hitched for a second time, bring him back to reality. This time was sure his husband had left a mark, and when he began to move on to the back of his neck it was only confirmation. As much as he would've liked to have another mark on him, it was about time the two of them headed home. So he told the older male to stop, adding that if he wanted to eat they needed to leave. Since it was Friday it meant they'd eat out, and eating out meant inviting the others to walk the streets with them as they hopped from street vender to street vender, sampling Osaka's finest. As far as he was concerned Osaka was the food capital of Japan, and even though he had not visited Tokyo, Kyoto, or any other major city, he knew Osaka was number one to him.

He _loved _street food with a deep passion, because it not only gave him a break from cooking but it allowed him to taste all the delicious things the venders had to often. All of them were rather nice people, and he was sure quite few of them knew their faces by heart since they had been doing this little tradition for about four years. Friday night was the official start of their weekend, though something given the week their celebration needed to be cut short since they had school the next day. It was only two Saturday's each month that they needed to go, and they only had to attend for a half a day which allowed them to still have free time. The six always had fun on the weekends, and if it just happened to be a cram day they still enjoyed themselves (though studies always came first…even if they did drift sometimes).

The two of them walked out of the small room, the afternoon air telling them that a change was going to be made soon. Maybe the week after his culture festival the season would change, and with fall approaching it only meant winter was coming right behind him. He just hoped once it finally rolled around that he was not affected by the overly joyful atmosphere, making him do something overly romantic that would probably, no, without a doubt earn him an extremely amused looked from his husband.

The older male was in no way a virgin of the mind, since the laptop he received before entering high school seemed to have done quite the job of killing whatever innocence he held. It didn't outright act like a pervert, that was not who he was, but there were times where it seemed like he wanted to say or do something rather inappropriate…and he had on a few occasions. Of course he scolded him, either jabbing him the side harder then he usual did or completely push him away and call him a 'lecher' since most of antics were directed at him. The youngest knew that just contributed to him holding back the urges that were so clearly there, no matter how much he denied it. He was young, he was a man, he had wants and needs…both of them did. But until Setsuna got over his 'phobia' there was nothing either of them could do but wait.

"So, are you feed me this time?"

"Don't even joke…"

"Ow, ow! You're so cruel to your husband, Setsu-chan."

"I'll stop being mean when my husband stops acting like an idiot…and would you get your hand off of my lower back?"

"Sorry! I'm telling you, mind of it's own."


	9. The Cute Chapter

Allelujah was asleep…or rather he would've been if his brother and Tieria we're arguing about something in the next room. He always tried to catch a few winks after his classes were over…but this wasn't one of those times. He and his brother still lived at home, and they probably would stay there until they graduated. They could've moved out anytime, but he had admitted to himself that he would without a doubt become homesick. Why shouldn't he be? It was the place he had grown up, and he knew that he'd have to move out eventually but why rush it? Allelujah knew his brother in no way felt the same, always saying that 'if they did leave something bad would happen'. He never actually knew what he was talking about, so he just swept it under the carpet. It was home! Nothing horrible was going to happen to them there!

But…even with saying that something had indeed riled his brother to the point of being suspicious…

Even with his door closed he could still hear them, their loud cries easily penetrating it. He could groan, he could complain, but there wasn't really anything he could do to stop them. When they would argue inside no one could do anything but wait, because if anyone interfere they would be pulled into something they couldn't control. He'd watched on many occasions as Lockon or Lyle were forcibly pulled in the hell storm that was Tieria and Hallelujah nonsensical arguments, and of course they didn't stand a change. It was like a black-hole no one could escape from until the two said they could, and the youngest must've known this because never once did he bother to help either of them. That was completely understandable…because even he didn't want to help them (he knew better after all).

They were getting louder, and the 'younger' Haptism knew that because their mother was downstairs that's all they would do…get louder. Fighting was a big no-no in their house, though 'tussling' was completely okay. Not a single drop of blood was allowed to hit the floor, and since they were turning into 'adults' their punishment for breaking such a rule was to clean the entire house, not just the spot, _the entire house_ (adults huh…). Allelujah knew this rule in no way included him and wasn't allowed to help either of them, which pleased him mainly because he knew there would be another argument a few seconds after they started. What was he going to do with the two of them…? But there was one thing that hand changed over the years…

As he lie there on his futon, his pillow now pressed against face, he couldn't help but think about how well the two were getting along. He knew that sounded ridiculous to the point of being insane, but the two now understood each other much more then they did when younger…at lest to a certain degree. When they fought it wasn't as bad, no one left with bruises and he didn't have to physically drag anyone away. That was a plus in his books. Also the second youngest had learned how to actually walk away if things became too heated, an observation first witnessed when he was fifteen.

Tieria was quite the little bruiser when he first entered high school, and if he and his brother ever decided to make a gang at that time they could've so easily ruled the school. That was in no way an exaggeration. The second youngest didn't like people, mainly because about eighty percent of the student body confused him for a girl. That was one thing that seemed to never change for the younger male; as he aged he still continued to hold feminine qualities in his face and body (though that in no way affect his voice, which should've been a dead give away to others), and for people who didn't know him it would've been so easy to see him as a girl. It was the main reason for the many slaps others received, as well as the many confession notes returned rather violently.

There were _always _confession notes…he'd count them out on the roof during lunch, and the four of them would always be amazed just how many there were. They always asked him out, asked for his number, and just generally asked if he would 'be their lover' (which always amused Hallelujah). The second youngest never tore them up, oh no, that would've given the writer too much pleasure he said. He always returned them, always in the spot he was told to meet them, and the four of them were always lookouts just incase something happened. His brother always called the person getting the letter back a 'poor sap' since they 'never had to guts to ask him out in person'. He did have a point…Allelujah just wouldn't have used that_ exact_ wording. If they wanted to ask him out, why not go up to him? A letter seemed like the worst kind of humiliation because they had to pour their hearts into it, but in the end they would just get it thrown back at them.

They really didn't have to be his lookout, seeing that the 'bruiser' part of his title wasn't there for decoration. Whatever had gone on in that house of his had properly trained him in the art of fighting, and he was able to display this at lest once a week. Someone always wanted to start something with him, always wanted to see if he would really fight back…and the second youngest always would. That was a good thing, right? Not the beating people senseless, but the fact that he could fight at all. It just meant he could take care of himself is a situation ever became bad, but for caution's sake they stayed. If anything ever happened to him none of them would be able to forgive themselves. They were just being good friends, right?

But the day in question was just like the all the others did; the five of them on the roof of the school, the regret of what they had done still laying heavily on them. All of them felt guilty for leaving Setsuna behind in the village, knowing that he probably wouldn't act the same now that the five of them were leaving. But that was the way thing had to work, and no matter how much guilt they felt there really was nothing they could do. However there was an upside; it was getting closer to the end the school year so that meant another year, a new grade, and the youngest finally getting into high school with them. That was a plus, right? Of course with the good came the bad, and the bad that came with this good was that the younger boy's husband would not being joining him.

He knew that the youngest would be more then a little heartbroken over that fact, and he used the word 'heartbroken' instead of 'upset' since it was clear that their relationship had changed. Now Allelujah wasn't exactly the sharpest when it came to how the people around him changed, but when he did witness change he knew it instantly. The two seemed to get a long much better after Christmas of the Dylandy twin's first year, and he wasn't sure what happened between the two but he was happy for them. Setsuna was always known for tagging along with his husband, but after Christmas the two seemed practically attached to one another. It wasn't like anyone actually minded this, Hallelujah just teased the two to no end about it, but it really had little to no affect on them.

Since it was lunch the five began to converse about just about anything, ranging from how boring a class was to what they had for lunch. He always made Tieria's lunch, because on the first few days he noticed he didn't eat anything but bread purchased from the cafeteria. He never refused free lunch, which was a good thing since he didn't want one of his friends starving to death on his watch. The Dylandy twin always brought lunch, always praised it like an idol, and always ate every bite so that they 'didn't disappoint Setsuna'. It was endearing and rather sweet to see the two treating such little gestures of kindness as such a big deal. He'd never been in love before, so he wasn't exactly sure if that was a normal thing or if such an action was just fitted for the two. But he had to wonder…what was it like to be absolutely devoted to someone?

Somehow the conversation took a strange turn, and it was a turn that apparently the second youngest didn't like. Whenever something like that would happen the three of them would back away from the person in question, and the person in question was always his brother. On that day Tieria was already a little irked since they had arrived ten minutes late to school, and he in no way liked being late. A late Tieria was an irritable Tieria, and an irritable Tieria meant that _**no one**_ was to piss him off. Apparently his brother hadn't gotten that memo yet…hell, he was sure he'd actually gotten it but chose to ignore it. That's just the kind of person his brother was.

Lyle stood at the door just in case the nurse was need, Lockon stood a little behind Hallelujah incase he needed to pull him away, and he still behind Tieria since he was the only person that could pull him off without receive his wrath. This was normal; the three of them knew their role and had stuck to them since the first day the second youngest set foot on school grounds. His brother just kept talking and the second youngest kept approaching, and it was at those times that Allelujah wished brother had an off switch. Close and close the two became, and it wasn't until he saw Tieria draw his fist back that he quickly screamed for him to stop. But it wasn't necessary…

The younger male's fist did collide with something, but it was not Hallelujah's face (thank god). Instead it roughly struck the chain-link fence his brother sat against, making his give off a loud rattle as it shook violently. His brother hadn't moved an inch, as if he had expected not to get punched by the other male. He couldn't _really_ predict that kind of thing could he? But once the second youngest yelled 'BAKA!' and quickly began to leave, the three of them couldn't help but exchange looks that clearly read 'what the hell just happened?' From that point on Tieria just walked away from whatever his brother had to say, still putting up some kind argument but stopping when the situation seemed to escalate too far.

But this did not apply to other people, since he still got into fight after fight at school. But it was still change wasn't it? He wasn't so hell-bent on beating the crap out of his brother anymore, and that was a good thing. Allelujah was told once that his consistent looking for the good in situation would be his downfall, that seeing that good in things all the time would only blind him to the real world. He wasn't blind to the real world…he knew horrible things happened, the second oldest just chose to overlook certain things. Someone needed to have a positive outlook, right? Sometimes understanding both sides of the spectrum but only acting on one was enough. His brother acted on both, having a somewhat cynical view of the world around him, and he really couldn't blame him for being that way but at the same time he couldn't overlook it.

Hallelujah mocked everything…never taking anything serious and treating it as a game. Allelujah wasn't sure where his brother had picked up such thinking or why, but it was clear that there wasn't any convincing him otherwise. He'd tried before but in the end his words did not reach him, his 'elder' brother fall asleep probably out of boredom.

"Goddammit!" He heard Tieria shout as he entered the room, slamming the door behind him, "I can't stand him!"

"You've told me before." He muttered, peeking over at the younger male from his pillow. It was probably made very clear that he was still trying to sleep, seeing that the second youngest had quickly covered his mouth but not before saying a small 'I'm sorry'. The two of them were particularly close, maybe a little closer then the others, so they understood one another. Allelujah knew he hadn't meant to keep him up with his yelling, and he also understood by the way his head was being placed in the younger male's lap that it was his way of really apologizing.

Now he really felt sleepy; for some reason the second oldest just felt relaxed whenever they were in such a position. Of course whenever someone saw them like this they always thought something was going on between the two of them, but he ignored it most of the time. The two were just friends so he didn't see why some people became all 'whoa, whoa!' whenever they did something. Okay, so maybe the head in the lap could be taken out of context, but the hugging, the spending the night, sleeping in the futon...alright, so all of that could be seen as a little odd. But it was normal for him! They had been doing those sorts of things for so long that it just felt natural, and his brother told him that having that feeling meant 'something was blooming'. He hated how cryptic his brother became sometimes, it only fueling his urge to make him stop believing that life was game.

"…When we come back, can I spend the night?" Tieria asked, racking his fingers through his hair. Without any hesitation he nodded, knowing that after so many years there was no way he could ever say no. It was a fact that the second youngest practically lived with him, since he always spent the night and never really seemed to want to leave. There was still something he still didn't understand about him…just what made him want to come over so often? He knew about the weekly 'training', and sure, that was enough of a reason for anyone to come over every now and then…but something had changed. Someone new had moved into Tieria's household, someone he didn't know existed seeing that the younger male never talked about his family much.

Ribbons Almark…that man in no way sat well with him…He'd come in contact with him only three times, the third time being the only where he'd actually spoken to him. During that brief conversation Allelujah could easy feel the air of arrogance practically leaking off of him. The way he talked, the way he stood, the way he looked at him as if he were nothing more then a small speck that really didn't matter…all of it just screamed 'I'm better then you'.

Tieria told him that the male was his cousin, and that it would be better if he along with everyone didn't speak to him. The second youngest always acted as if something more sinister then his 'training' was going on in that house, and the more he thought about it the more he felt like asking. But asking meant overstepping his boundaries, and he was sure if he did something horrible would came of it. It was a known fact that if Tieria didn't like what was said during a conversation, he would not hesitate to tell the person speaking so. The younger male usually hated whoever the speaker was for at lest three days, and it was best to just leave him alone during that time.

The second youngest believed that other was just temperamental by nature, getting irritated at just about anything he didn't see 'fit'. However, that might've been true but he had never once yelled, hit, or called him a 'pervert' like he did the others. Well…Setsuna was also immune from this as well, because honestly a _very_ angry Lockon was a _very_ scary Lockon. The oldest had two looks that were filled with an emotion that on the outside no one thought he possessed, seeing that he was cheerful about ninety-nine point nine percent cheerful (especially when the youngest was round). He'd witnessed both looks before, and during both times everyone was taken completely by surprise…in the worst way.

The first was one directed solely at Lyle; the day he exclaimed that he 'loved Setsuna more then his brother' was a day everyone thought was just going to be like the others, but that idea was thrown completely out the window when the oldest countered his brother with a expression that read pure malice. It might've startled the four of them, but it seemed to hit the other Dylandy to the core, shaking his very being. That look was crafted just for him…no one else. The second look was directed at all of them, and Allelujah was sure that it was more of a threat then a warning.

The six of them were having an outing, and since the youngest was only eleven at the time he still had a little more 'adjusting' to do. Given what happened on the festival the day before school started a year ago, it could easily be seen that he was not use to being around others. With that adjustment came a filter of sorts, the one that told people what they could and could not say around others. Setsuna's filter was…still getting set up so to speak, and on that particularly fine spring afternoon Tieria along with his brother and the other Dylandy learned that ignoring he youngest whenever something random came out of his mouth would be in their best interest…or rather not acting physical towards him would be.

All of them had decided to go into town since the youngest apparently wanted to buy something, and he freely admitted that he didn't want to go along so dragging them along sounded like a good decision (so them going wasn't entirely a freewill thing). He didn't actually say why they were going into town, but of course the oldest know instantly and refused to tell anymore else. It was understandable if the two had some sort little secret that only they knew about, because honestly he had his own secrets to hide. He never told the others about the hidden cuts and bruises Tieria had on him, though it would stay that way until he himself found out just what was going on in that house and why it happened to him. He was a good kid…and even if he did mess up in school often, that didn't mean he deserved to be treated horribly.

The five of them waited outside until Setsuna was done, and whenever they waited outside the curb was the only place to sit. The second youngest always sat next to him, and always close enough to the point where they would touch. He didn't mind this in the slightest, but his brother always had to crack some kind of joke. He would never outright say what he really wanted to in those situations, always beating around the bush to really just annoy Tieria to the point of pure annoyance. For some reason the mere mention that the two of them were 'together' was the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard for him, though for Allelujah it didn't really bother him all that much. As always they got themselves into another argument and he and both Dylandy twins listened on like they usually did.

It was business as usual, he and the twins paying them no mind and treating the whole thing as 'just another useless argument'…that was until the youngest unexpectedly came up behind them and said that 'Hallelujah likes Tieria'. Since it had never been said before it took everyone a few minutes to process the words, the meaning, and the blatant lack of humor behind what had just come out of Setsuna's mouth. Lockon and his brother tried their best to not laugh, since the extremely horrified look on both Hallelujah and Tieria's face was rather priceless. No one, _**no one**_ had _**ever**_ accused his brother of liking the second youngest throughout their years in the village, and to hear such a switch he finally understood why his brother found so much humor in it.

But needless to say the second youngest was not happy in the slightly, and he probably knew he crossed a few boundaries but also didn't seem like he cared at the time. He quickly got up and swatted the back of the younger boy's head, telling him that saying something like that would 'turn into a pervert like Hallelujah'. Rubbing the spot that was just hit, the youngest gave a small apology, adding that he didn't want to end up that way. Surprisingly his brother didn't say a word about this, mostly because the shock had rendered him speechless (which was rare). But even with that the oldest didn't seem to take the whole thing as 'alright', since he quickly shouted 'now wait just a minute!' which caught everyone's attention. Without much hesitation Lockon got up and hugged his 'wounded' wife, asking if he was alright which earned him a rather confused look from the younger boy. And then the oldest…smiled.

Yes, _smiled_. It was not directed at the younger boy in any way, instead its focus on them. Even if it was a smile it practically reeked of 'you _really_ shouldn't have done that', which was only part of the non-spoken message he was trying to send. He held Setsuna tight and told them that 'they shouldn't hit his wife, right?', and with that smile the four of them could only back up slightly as they laughed nervously. How else would the oldest act if the person he loved was harmed in any form? Better yet, the four of them were still very much alive after Tieria's mistake, and that was the very reason he and the others said in unison that they would 'absolutely never lay a hand on him'. They never had any intentions of hitting the younger boy, and from then on they remembered just why that was…

That's just how Lockon was; he was overprotective of the thing he held dear, and given the fact that he had nearly drowned himself to save the younger boy (Hallelujah made him swear to never tell anyone else about the 'stream incident') he knew their bond went much deeper then what was shown on the outside.

"You know, it's times like this I wish I had my camera on me." Came his brother's voice, who had come in unnoticed and draped himself over Tieria.

"Hallelujah, I swear if you don't let me go-"

"You'll what?"

Ah, he hit a nerve. The next thing Allelujah knew his head hit the floor with a 'thud' and the second youngest was wrestling with his brother on the floor. Even though he could fight, Tieria did not fair well when it came to basically rolling around on the floor. He needed structure, some sort of stance, but when it came to trying to fend of his brother as he called him a 'pervert' over and over again, there really wasn't much the younger male could do. He wanted to get up and stop them like he usually did, but his fatigue was seriously starting to blur his better judgment.

It was Friday…he needed to sleep if he wanted to function properly tonight, and the last he wanted to do was fall asleep while standing…he'd done it before and it was not fun. On that note he also didn't want to be irritable; it was a little known fact that if he couldn't get a little cranky if he missed his afternoon nap, but not overly cranky to the point where he was being an ass. The second oldest would talk less, resorting to a an occasional head nod or small noise that sounded like 'yes' or 'no' directed at the person talking. He didn't want to act like that on a Friday, not when in an hour or so he was supposed to be going out! Curling up under his blanket, he let the sounds of 'get off of me!' and 'make me!' begin to carry him into dreamland. It wasn't like they were going to kill each other, right?

"T-Tieria…?"

Oh god, had he been wrong? He jolted up and quickly directed his attention over to his brother, half expect the second youngest to be knocked out. Hallelujah had the younger male pinned down against the floor, and even though that bothered him slightly it was not the main issue. It was the look the other was giving his brother that was, and it was probably the first time he'd ever seen the second youngest with it. Fear…pure unadulterated fear. His brother had never actually scared Tieria before, be it on Halloween or any other day. Sure there were things that scared the second youngest, he was human wasn't he? Everyone had some sort of fear when it came to certain things, be it from the small to the big. However…he was in no way afraid of his brother, so instead of him focusing on Hallelujah he focused on what he was going.

His hands were pinned above his head, the 'elder' Haptism hovering over him as he practically straddling his waist. The two of them were indeed close, but it wasn't so close to the point where they looked to be kissing (which would probably never happen before him). They'd been that way before, and his brother usually got himself kicked in the crotch or if Tieria somehow managed to get a hand loose he'd be punched (rather hard at that). But…why was this time different?

"H-Hallelujah, let him-"

"P-Please don't touch me…" He heard the second youngest start, "L-Let me go, d-don't touch me…"

What…was going on? His brother let him go and back up, quickly looking over at him with a frantic 'well do something!' look. What could he do? Even with his brother gone it did not stop the other from talking, him acting like a CD with a scratch in, repeating the same thing over and over again. It alarmed him that something that seemed so normal to the three of them had put him in such a state, and the slight trance he had gotten himself in was making his stomach drop further with each passing second. Having never dealt with this kind of situation Allelujah did that first thing that came to mind; he knew that doing that usually wasn't the smartest thing in the world, but right now his friend was in great need of help.

Getting up from his spot on his futon, he quickly kneeled in front of Tieria and pulled him up by his shoulders. The poor male looked so dazed, completely unaware of where he was or what he was going. The 'younger' Haptism shook him as he repeatedly called his name, pleading for him to wake up from whatever kind of delusion he was going through. It was hard for him to look at the second youngest, it eerily similar to him gazing down at a wounded animal that had backed itself into a corner, him completely oblivious as to how he could save it. Shaking him a little harder he tried adding a little more volume to his voice, trying his best to not go over any boundaries but at the same time fear that if he didn't he would lose him.

He didn't want to be so rough that he actually hurt him, but apparently his brother didn't seem to have any issues with this when time seemed to go on forever with no end in sight…Allelujah was slightly stunned when the younger male was yanked out of his grasp, but even more stunned his brother stuck him across the face. The slap was apparently hard enough that it knocked the younger male's glasses off, sending them thumbing to the ground. Everything was still after that…Tieria had grown silent and both he and his brother anxiously waited for what would be his first coherent sentence in almost ten minutes. He watched as the second youngest _slowly_ turned his head towards his brother, the look of fear completely gone and replaced with something else…something more familiar.

"…Hallelujah Haptism, you die now…"

They were right back where they started, and he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. He watched as the two began to tussle all over again, the second youngest clearly trying to go for his brother's neck. As he watched he knew that even if the younger male was feeling better…he in no way could ask him about what had just happened. He wanted to rather badly, but he knew that there were places that they were not allowed to pry into (this included Hallelujah too surprisingly). They had just witnessed a small glimpse into something they weren't supposed to know about, and it was that quick look that made him ask himself:

Just what the hell was going on over at his place?

* * *

Why couldn't everyday be like a weekend? That was the very question Setsuna asked himself as he wiped the sticky crimson liquid from his nose. He was more then a little content for two days straight, but since the world worked in a way he disapproved of greatly that meant his contentment would lead to more hell on Monday…and it did.

Friday was fun, like it always was, and he tried desperately to hold onto to those pleasant memories of the two days that followed after it just to keep him going. After leaving their hideaway from the world, he and his husband took the bus back to their apartment. It would be rather odd if they walked around during the night with their uniforms off, and the youngest in no way wanted a reminder of what he had to go through during 'school hours' as he spent time with his friends. Even if he didn't act like himself, he never brought that kind of thing into their living area. That…pain…The moment he left school he took it with him, but the moment he set outside of the small room on the roof he left it there. Setsuna allowed himself to forget…even if it would just come back later on.

Before they actually headed out to the bus stop, there was another quick stop he needed to make. The youngest would freely admit that his liking for manga had grown over the years, which was why he always picked up a copy of _Weekly Shonen Jump _from the convenient store nearby. His 'liking' extended so far that he always bought the weekly and monthly magazines, always watched the anime that came on in the afternoon, and was always happy to try his hand at drawing something of his own (but never for submission). Lockon told him that he was on his way to becoming a fine 'otaku', and since he didn't know the meaning of that word he had to look it up.

_An obsession with anime and manga_…He did not have an obsession- okay, fine, so he did noticed that he was more then a little excited to get his hands on anything related to both things. But it was not an _obsession_…it was more along the lines of an intense liking. The somewhat positive byproduct of his slight otaku-ism (that's what he saw it as and that's what it would stay as) was his newfound talent for the arts. He thought he was alright while everyone else thought he was just being humble, which could've very well been true. Other then cooking and taking notes he really didn't think there was a lot he was _really_ great at, but of course his husband always told him just 'how wonderful' he really was.

Fifty percent of what the older male said about him was fiction, an exaggeration of what his love stricken mind saw. The other half was far too embarrassing for him to admit, like that he was an excellent kisser, so much so that he would usually yell at him for 'fantasizing too much' as he blushed. He knew Lockon couldn't help but playfully tease him, since it was what couples did and he was just following suit.

While waiting for the bus he had to repeatedly tell the older male to _stop_ touching his lower back, seeing that it was just another spot he seemed attracted to. It would've been slightly alright if there weren't people at the bus stop as well, and though he didn't mind the kissing _that_ kind of attention needed to wait. During the entire time they stood there he had to hold the older male's wrist, just so he wasn't tempted to touch _anything_. The others that were with them were two girls, and he heard them whispering amongst themselves about how 'cute' they looked. He had really wanted to avoid that situation…and given how he was holding his husband's hand it wasn't making it any better. God, that bus ride was going to be awkward…

As they sat in the back of the bus, all he could see were the two girls chatting it up about them. They looked around his age and were probably in high school (though they lacked uniforms so he couldn't say for sure), be he was far too absorbed in that fact that they were _talking about the two of them_. The older male said that it was alright, since what they had to say wasn't in any way negative. He also added that he found it cute that someone else saw them as an 'adorable couple', and Setsuna, finding that his husband had used the word 'cute' one too many times, jabbed him in the side. That earned a gasps from the two that sat in the front, until Lockon call out that his 'cute was only messing around'.

Would he shut up? The youngest could no long look up anymore, keeping all of his attention on the ground as his husband began to engage in a conversation with the two high school looking girls. It was obvious that the older male probably wasn't going to go into great detail about anything, but…dammit, he was still talking about him! The problem was that every time he spoke about him it was nothing but sweet things, and those sweet things were making the blush more and more as time went one. However, Setsuna let out a huge sigh of relief when they finally reached their stop, wanting nothing more then to leave the bus so he could yell at the older male. But just as he passed the two girls he felt his shirt tugged, and as he turned around he saw something placed in front of his face.

Once his eyes adjusted to the close proximity said something was placed, he found that it was a folded piece of paper. One of them waved it in his face, saying that he should take it since they 'might see each other again'. Hesitating for a moment, he took the small piece of paper and quickly left the bus, so very confused as to what they had really given it to him. While watching the bus leave the oldest joked that they had gotten their phone numbers, but upon flipping it open he found two names plus the name of a school…

His school…Great, more to worry about. But the two seemed to generally not know who he was, so that either meant they were first years or they were oblivious to what went on during school hours. Either way he probably wasn't going to meet either of them since, just like him, the were nothing but numbers on a list. The staff didn't care what happened to its students, only that they maintained good grades so they could get the hell out after graduation. He'd never felt that until high school…and it was just another thing that made him miss going to school in the village. There he actually hated the fact that he was leaving, but knew in doing so he would be one step closer to the people he cared for. That wasn't his mindset anymore…he just wanted to leave so he could never go back.

Setsuna ignore his husband's comment about 'potentially making a new friend' since it was obviously absurd, instead just walking away and having him follow. He only had and needed one friend at school, and that was enough for him. Even if it did feel lonely with just one person by his side during those god-awful days, he didn't mind. The two of them walked up to their apartment complex, the youngest still not taking any chances as he held tightly Lockon's wrist. The only time he let him go was when he reached into his pocked and pulled out his key; he was given one since, well, it didn't make any sense for him to move in and not have one. He wasn't a child that needed to wait for someone to come home to open the door, he was sixteen and could very well own a key to the apartment he was living in.

Once inside he set his bag down on the table that still remained out, knowing that once he returned home he would read whatever was inside those wonderful pages. Walking over to the closet he began to pick out something casual to wear while outside, and as he did so he put the nice weather outside into consideration. He wasn't much for fashion, only clothing shopping whenever he saw fit. Even then he only picked out one thing, and that one thing was usually never worn that often. He liked the clothes he wore on a regular basis, not wanting to put them aside for something else since there was nothing wrong with them. His husband tried to tell him to go shopping more often since his wardrobe was amazingly small, but he just told him that it wasn't important.

Once his clothes were in hand, Setsuna quickly made his way to the bathroom. There was only one time during the entire day where the two were allowed (the youngest was doing the 'allowing') to be seen partially clothed or practically naked, and that time was whenever the two or three of them took a trip to the bathhouse at night. They needed to strip down, because how else were they going to take a bath? Even while they wore towels around their waists younger male never looked over at them, and he had made it _pain_stakingly clear that if the two ever so much as glance over at him something horrible would befall them. The Dylandy twins seemed to listen, seeing that he had not specified just what that 'something horrible' was which meant it to be damn near anything, and that was enough to scare anyone.

Slipping off his uniform he folded it nicely and placed it on the side of the sink; he decided to postpone washing clothes until the next day since nothing really happened on a Saturday. If no one came over the main priority was getting things clean, studying, and sleeping. Sleeping in was on weekends was essential to him, and his thought process was basically this: he needed to recharge after doing so much, and it gave him a good excuse to try to prepare himself for the start of the next week. However…there really was no telling just what he was going to go through, so 'preparing' seeming like a waste of time.

It was like…walking into a dark room everyday. He knew it was the same room from the other day, but it wasn't until he turned on the lights he found that someone had rearranged the furniture. The youngest knew it was the same school, the same people, but something was always different. _That_ kind of randomness was something he did not want in his life any longer…

Shaking his head, he tried to forget as he began to put his clothes on, reminding himself that he needed to retrieve his scarf from his bag. It didn't take long for him to dress, but upon opening the door he quickly closer it once he caught sight of his husband taking his shirt off, cursing his slow nature as he did so. Leaning against it he told the other to hurry up, because honestly, he couldn't bring himself to open the door and tell him in person. He didn't mind looking at Lockon without his shirt, but he knew if he looked temptation would be right there with him. After knowing someone for so long and only seeing them one way, it was hard for him to view the older male as anything more then his 'young husband'. That was another reason why could couldn't perform…_that act_.

His number one fear was having that image of the older male completely shattered, that once they actually '_did the deed_' he would be a completely different person. What if he left him? What if he lost that cheerful personality whenever the youngest was around? What if he…started to look at him with spite filled eyes? Deep down Setsuna knew that it wasn't in Lockon's nature to be that way, but the fear was still very much there. He didn't know what pleasure of the body felt like (nor did he ever ponder on it for more then one minute), and given his apprehension he might never feel it…not that he wanted to feel it that badly or anything.

Opening the door again he let out a sigh when he saw that the older male was fully dressed, that oh-so familiar look of amusement on his face. His husband knew he saw…but he just ignored him as he walked over to the door. Flinging it open he didn't pay Lyle any mind as he walked out, the Dylandy twins chasing after him as they yelled 'slow down!' The youngest wanted to get to the bus, met the others in the northern town, and have a good time…he didn't have time to mess around and be late! Time…he didn't know why but he always felt like he didn't have enough of it, like he was always on a hurry for no reason. Lockon said he seriously needed to slow down before he 'overloaded and crashed'…whatever that meant.

Still felling slightly annoyed with his husband for talking about him, he did not speak to him or his brother during the entire bus ride. Instead he let his mind wander as he stared out the window, not really expected or wanted to see anything in particular. He often found himself staring off, lost in thought as he seemly daydreamed seconds, maybe minutes, of his life away. Hallelujah said that he 'thought too much', which did hold some true since he believed there was never a time where he wasn't thinking about something he needed to do. The youngest wasn't sure why he did such a thing, his guess would probably have to be his body trying to tell him something. Outside of the usual response (hungry, sleepy, etc) he didn't usually listen to his body, preferring to listen to the logic his mind produced.

It was probably a bad thing that he ignored so many things about himself, but there were just one too many things going on for him to have 'personal time'. It wasn't until he felt his husband tap on his shoulder that he knew they had arrived. Setsuna had done it again…he had completely shut out everything until he was 'woken up'. The only thing he hoped was that it did not get worse over time, and he also hope that it was not stress related…because he was pretty sure he had _a lot _of stress in his life.

After leaving the bus the three knew exactly where to go to meet the others, since it was in truth the first spot they were going to eat at. They always went in an order; first and foremost was the takoyaki (fried octopus dumplings) stand because it was the first Japanese street delicacy that he had fallen in love with. Upon downing them all the six of them would sit at a large stand that specialized in okonomiyaki, a pancake of sorts that was topped with…well, any and everything. All of them would share one since it was rather large, and each of them found that it was almost impossible to finish a whole one by one's self. If they had any room left over (which they always did) the last stop on their outing would be the ramen bar, were they would order a hot bowl of kitsune udon, and he was sure that it was probably the best noodles he'd never eaten.

It might've seemed like a lot to eat, but after all he _did_ live in Osaka. He was told that he lived in one of the most laid back areas in Japan, and he realized the genuineness of that statement when he first heard the word _kuidaore_.Kuidaore (roughly) meant 'toruin oneself by extravagance in food', or rather 'eat till you drop'. It was that extreme love for food as well as the laid back attitude that he saw everytime six of them went out on Friday's, and it did help him forget about the hard times he had during his school hours. Businessmen unwinding with their coworkers, merchants happily serving those who come by to sample their hard work, students he did not know wandering around with their friend just like he was…

It was completely different from the hours spent inside with so much hate, it was much more…positive. They found the other three with ease, and if they ever forgot their way they could've just let Hallelujah and Tieria's bickering be their guild. His husband had told him that it was rather easy to see the one sided love that had developed on the 'elder' Haptism's side, and that it would be a rather interesting situation to watch. The youngest was not allowed to interfere with the _personal_ lives of his friends, since the oldest had told him that the three needed to work something out on their own…like they had.

With an extremely quick conversation they were off, and from his past experiences he knew the whole outing would take about two hours. And what a two hours it was…eating, laughing (well he didn't let them hear him), and just having a good time made the hours passes by so quickly. He was, however, reminded of where (his zoning out even occurred there) he was by the consistent flash of Hallelujah's camera going off. The 'elder' Haptism had taken up photography as his major, so he always brought a digital camera just about everywhere he went. Of course a different type of camera was needed to _really_ get the shots he wanted, so he just called his constant snapping of photos with the smaller device 'practice'.

It was a shame that it couldn't last for just a little longer, and once it was over it was over. With the end of their fun came that awkward phase; after saying their goodbyes to the second youngest and the Haptism twins, their next stop was not home but the bathhouse. It was a daily thing since they did not own a bathtub, and every time he graced the entrance he really did wish they did.

The ride back to the southern town was tense, even if the three of them pretend that it wasn't (Lockon and Lyle more so then he did). They didn't need to stop home and pick anything up; everything was given to them, from the soap to the towels so nothing needed to be brought from home. It really was rather convenient, and given the time of the day they went there was basically no one else around with them…which was a very good thing.

He visibly stiffened up when they left the bus, and as always his husband ruffled his hair as a way to make him relax. It was just hard for him to calm down…even after telling the twins not to look at him, it was still the fact that all three of them would be damn near naked that got to him so much. But he needed to put that horribly embarrassing feeling behind him because he needed to get clean, and after having such a long day it was apparent that it was necessary. Sometimes he just needed to suck it up, deal with his issues, and go with it…which was what he told himself as he removed his shoes near the door as they entered. The three of them were greeted by the owner who sat behind a small window, and out of respect for their elders they greeted them back.

They paid for their time, which was always twenty minutes, and went over to the changing room. This was the part he hated…All three of their lockers were located next to each other, and that just made it even harder for him not to look over at his husband and his brother. Goddamn temptation…he did put into consideration that said feeling might be pestering him so badly because he was too afraid to actually do anything remotely 'intimate' to either male. Hugging was about it all he did to the other, and when it came down to kissing he was never the one to initiate them as much as he should. Maybe he had…intimacy issues, or maybe he was just young. It was probably wrong of him to never really say 'I love you' often, or for that matter just kiss the other for no reason whatsoever…it wasn't like he was asking them to bed him by doing said actions.

Once his clothes were off he quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist, knowing as he left for the main bathing area that he was being followed. Setsuna didn't glance over his shoulder in the slightest, didn't wonder if the two were looking away (which they better have been), the only thing inside his mind at the time was that he needed to 'wash, soak, and leave'. The bathing area was always so steamy and every time he stepped in it took him a few seconds to catch his breath. The wash part of his routine was pretty self-explanatory, though the actual process was slightly different then one might think.

Instead of getting in the water and washing like he did at his house, the youngest had to sit on a small stool and lather himself up. During that he washed his hair, because he knew that having dirty hair was the worst feeling in the world. Once his body was thoroughly covered in bubbles he poured bucket of water over himself, ridding himself of whatever filth had managed to cling to it. The next and most relaxing part of the whole thing was soaking; it was to 'purify' the body, but really just an excuse to relax in a makeshift hot spring (it was really as close to a hot spring as he would probably get). Sliding himself into the pool of (not too hot and not too deep) water, he gently rested the back of his head against the side which put his body into 'don't care slightly' mode.

'Slightly' was used because the youngest was still very much aware of what went on around, and if he was touched at all he would react instantly. His husband did put his head on his shoulder, which he didn't mind all that much…he was just worried about where those hands of his went. But luckily the older male never became handsy while they were soaking, most likely because he knew that the youngest in no way approved of being touched while both of them were in such a public area. Lockon always understood…at lest to a certain point about how he felt about being 'felt up'.

He was still very much in the middle, having his husband on his left and Lyle on his right. The three of them didn't speak much, only asking the occasional question that didn't usually get answered. Much like the events prior they could've stayed like that for the reminded of the night, having the hot water completely relax them to the point of drowsiness, but if they didn't want to be overcharged they needed to leave. Leaving was pretty much the same as coming in…no one looked around, everyone quickly dressed and everyone said farewell to the owner as the walked out. He always sighed after the fact, more out of relief that it was over then the warm feeling his body held. During the walk back his husband held him close, and since he was in somewhat of a good mood he allowed it.

_That_ was the start of his weekend, a weekend now completely forgotten as he stood in the school bathroom and wiped his bleeding nose with the back of his hand. Setsuna only remembered Monday…today…only remembered the moment he set foot on school grounds and the events that transpired after that. He cursed to himself as he washed his hand, cleaning up the pile of blood stained tissues next to him once done.

This wasn't new…he always became frustrated a few seconds before lunch started, needed to just a few moments of silence to get himself together. His teacher seemingly didn't care that he had to consistently leave the classroom around the same time, and it really did work to his advantage. However, this was the first time he had gotten himself so riled up to the point where his nose actually bleed…it probably having something to do with the pencil that was consistently being jabbed into his back. The youngest couldn't get angry…he wouldn't allow himself to because it would only make his situation worst if he lashed out. Feeling nothing was better then getting himself angry and doing something reckless.

Turning off the faucet he walked over to the door, propping himself up against it as he tried to rid himself of what little resentment he had left inside of him. The bathroom was always empty whenever he came in, and to make sure it stayed that way he locked the door. Tieria knew about this routine and wait in the classroom for his return, because the roof was a very lonely place to be without someone else there. He had offered to come with him just to make sure nothing bad happened, but he declined saying that it 'wasn't that big of a deal'.

Ah yes…on top of making the second youngest swear to never tell Lockon about the abuse he went through, he was forbidden from helping him during any kind of humiliating situation. This was _his_ burden to bare, no one else's, and if someone he knew was dragged into it he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. He wasn't going to let the only person he could turn to during school hours become a target for childish behavior, so there was no way in hell he would let him fall into the same hole. Maybe that was asking for too much on his part, but there really wasn't much else he could do. He took it all…he pushed Tieria out of harms way by not letting him help him, he kept his husband in the dark so he wouldn't obsessively worry about him everyday, all of it…it was just for him.

As he was about to unlock the door, he heard something from the other side that basically made his heart stop…

"He's in here!"

Damn…he'd been followed. Back up he could hear the loud voices from the other side, their conversation purposefully that particular volume because he knew they wanted him to hear them. Two of the voices he knew without a doubt, because they were the ringleaders of the three ringed circus of hell he was made the main attraction of everyday. The Trinity siblings were what they went by when together, but apart the second year sister was named Nena and the third year brother went by Michael. Together or apart they were the worst people in the school, and with their little sheep following them blindly there weren't many that opposed them.

Setsuna wasn't sure why they hated him so much, maybe his skipping a grade aggravated them slightly or maybe they just thought him weak (which he was not), but whatever the reason they had taken it upon themselves to cause him as much emotional distress during the day as possible. But when it wasn't them it was their sheep…if they said jump, the sheep would jump, and if they said 'make Setsuna's life a living hell' they mere relied 'baaa' and went to work. Why did they worship the two of them? He didn't know…it was hard for him to relate to someone who relinquished their freewill for laughs. Hell, he couldn't even relate to someone being idolized like that…or rather he should say in _that _sort of way.

He could hear more voices, and the more voice there were the worse he was going to get it…they weren't going to let him leave. When a loud 'BAM' was heard against the door, the sound of someone slamming their hands against it, he backed up until he hit the edge of the sink. This was a first as well…he usually made sure no one followed him, opting to use the bathroom that was on the second floor rather then the one on the third where his classroom was located. The youngest just wanted more convenient since his _nose was bleeding_, but it was that convenience that would cost him.

They chanted his name as they pounded on the door. 'Setsuna come out!', 'Setsuna come out!', 'SETSUNA COME OUT!' was all he heard, and not since he first met his husband had he hated the sound of his own name being called. There wasn't a back door he could've ran to, some sort of magical door that appeared when he was in need…there was only one way in and one way out. Sliding down to the floor he covered his ears, knowing that it wouldn't help in the slightest, but he still needed something to at lest try and block out the noise. The youngest didn't say a word, he didn't scream or shout or tell them to leave…he just sat there like he usually did and allowed himself to ridiculed.

Their chanting became louder and he could only hold his ears tighter, and because he hadn't responded yet they were just going to keep pounding…probably until lunch ended. The youngest probably won't eat today, which was somewhat rare but it had happened before in the past. He'd probably lie to the older male once the two of them made it back home, saying that he wasn't hungry or that he couldn't eat anything because his stomach was upset. He had used those excuses before and he would use them again, no matter how much it hurt.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard something else, something that wasn't banging or chanting. Someone was yelling…It wasn't until the sound of people scurrying away followed by a 'get the hell out of here!' hit his ears that he slowly began to lower his hands, both hesitant and edger about what was going to happen next. The youngest was aware how they played games…making him think one thing while they plotted another. He had gotten himself hit with many things when he believed such a ridiculous ploy, but if he got it out of the way he didn't have to deal with it anymore…or rather they never pulled the same trick twice in one day. Setsuna jumped slightly when a softer, quieter sound came from the door…was it alright?

"Setsuna, it's me."

Yes, it was alright…Picking himself up from the floor he walked over the thick piece of wood, and even though he knew it was alright he hesitated with the lock. Once the loud 'click' was heard he knew that his hand had moved on its own, it telling him that there was no reason for him to doubt this. Maybe he really did need to listen to his body more…He didn't need to go any further since the door was flung open, and the way his shoulders were roughly grabbed he knew he was about to get an earful. Since the youngest had forbidden Tieria from interfering (this was a special case), after every incident he allowed him to vent, to just let everything he was feeling out so he didn't have to keep it in.

"Are you alright? God, I can't believe I let you go alone! My cell was on! You should've called me so I could've gotten here soon! Dammit, this is my fault…but you're okay, right? They didn't touch you, right?"

"I'm fine, Tieria…" He said in a small voice, really just wanted to leave for the roof. His head was beginning to hurt and, it seemed the longer he stayed in that bathroom the more it began to throb. But the second youngest continued on, trailing on about how he 'should've done more', that he 'blamed himself' for not knowing. He couldn't have known…neither of them couldn't have known, and even if they had what would they do?

Nothing that's what…there were just too many people, and drawing more attention to themselves was not needed (even if the second youngest already had quite the track record). It was not the weak way out…it was the smart one. He hadn't actually given the flock a reason to hate him, the group merely going off what the leaders said, so if he actually gave them one the result would be disastrous. The sheep would run around franticly if anything every happened to their leader, if he ever decided to strike them, and that would cause nothing but confusion on their part.

However, as he continued to speak something did occur to him…how did he know that he was in the bathroom? Their classroom was located quite a ways away from the bathroom he was currently in, and even with the loud bangs it would've been rather hard for anyone from that distance to distinguish the name the sheep and their leader were chanting. So how? When he asked, completely cutting off Tieria's rant, the other looked at him for a moment. He left, but only for a few second, and once he returned he brought someone along with him. Their hands were covering their face, and given the fact that they were female it was understandable since she had just been brought into the male restroom. But what truly shocked him was that he actually _knew_ this person, or better put that he had seen them on two separate occasions…

Once on the bus ride home Friday and once after he had entered the main gates of the school that day…Of course he didn't think much of the two people written on the folded piece of paper, and they were the last people on his mind while he and Tieria followed the parade of students onto school grounds. The two of them were always near the back, because Setsuna _**really**_ liked to take his time. It was a poor, poor excuse to try and delay the inevitable, he knew this very well, but still he stayed. It was odd really…seeing so many people around him, so many people who thought their actions were innocent. The notion of pitying those who didn't know their own way had occurred to him, but doing something like that wouldn't benefit him or the people in question.

Pity was not going to change the fact that once high school was over…they would be in the real world. The groups they joined, the people they only knew by the last name, all of this would not matter after graduation. The only real thing it was good for was looking back once they became much older, and deep down he wished that on the day they decided to finally look back on everything…they feel guilty. Not now, no, they would never feel such a thing…not when the ones beside them repeatedly told them that they were not in the wrong, that their behavior was 'normal'. The youngest could've hated him, could've cursed their names and damn them to depths of hell…but in truth self-hate was far worse then anything he could ever wish upon them.

While engaging in a light conversation with the second youngest, he felt someone bump (or rather slam) into him, sending both he and the bumper to the ground in a rather hard manner. Setsuna listened as they apologized profusely while he got up and dusted himself off, only really paying them any mind once he heard a loud gasp followed by 'I know you!' Looking up he found that he too knew the girl, and once he realized just _where_ he'd seen her…he wanted to leave…_badly_. Goddamn his husband and his sweet words! He was going to hit him once he arrived at the bus stop, he swore it…

Oh the bus stop…since the older male's classes ended before Setsuna's high school actually let out, he would always wait by the bus stop for him. The two went to their 'hideaway' so often that it didn't make sense to go all the way home then come back, since the abandoned area was located in the northern town where his high school was. Sometimes he would be asleep or at lest the point where he looked like he was nodding off, and it was up to him to wake him up. So lazy…but it was that laid-back attitude of his that made the youngest look forward to being with him again.

The girl from before said that she remembered both the youngest and his husband from the other night, but as the she spoke she began to look around, as if trying to find someone in the crowd ahead of them. '_She couldn't be, could she?' _was what he thought as he asked just what in the world she was doing. As he feared she replied 'looking for your boyfriend' to which a horribly awkward feeling overcame him; there was no way he could tell her that Lockon was a college student, because that would imply that he was _**much**_ older them him…which he wasn't. The three year age difference was just that…a difference, it was not a gap but a difference. Lying, he simply said that he was 'away', and that she probably wouldn't see him in the mass amount of people.

The seemed to satisfy her, but he still wasn't sure just why she was talking to him in the first place. So they had met on the bus, the older male had talked to her and her apparent friend, and she had given him a folded piece of paper with their names on it…did that give the two of them the right to speak to one another? The youngest knew nothing about this person, and for all he knew they could've been sent to mess with him. But he would play their game…because there really wasn't any way for him to avoid it. If Setsuna ran he would be followed, pestered to no end if he did not introduce himself and start up something he really had no intention of finishing. So he held out his hand slightly, speaking his name and his class number in a somewhat small voice like he usually did when introducing himself to new people (the class number was only for students).

He really didn't like meeting new people all that much, rather having someone else do it for him. It wasn't because he was shy, rather he didn't trust others he didn't know right off the back. They needed to prove that they were indeed worth talking to, since he in no way wanted to tell anyone anything about him if they were just going to use it against him. Just as she was about to take it she ran off, saying that she couldn't be late to class anymore and that she would see him around. Yeah right…out of the thousand students that attended there was a very slim chance the two would ever meet again, so he didn't think much ever seeing the other another again.

But yet here she was…

"C-Can we get out of here? It feels really, really weird." She said, peeking through her fingers and trying desperately to not look around. Well the three no longer had any reason to be in there, so they stepped out into the now clear hallway. The girl took her hands down as she completely relaxed, that probably being her first time in the men's restroom (today seemed to a day of firsts).

"She came and told me what was going on." Tieria said in a fairly flat tone, the look of utter failure plastered all over his face. The youngest knew there wasn't a thing he could say to him to make that look go away…

"Really…?" He asked, looking in the direction of the new girl.

"Yeah! I heard them shouting 'Setsuna' and then I remembered 'hay, I met someone with that name this morning'! But then I didn't know what to do since there were so many, so I went to your classroom and he happened to be there." She said, pointing to the second youngest as she finished. What do you know…she actually had enough sense to stop and wonder 'what the hell was going over here?' Most of the time people ignored whatever happened to him, never coming to his rescue because involvement was the same as saying 'pick one me too'.

"Christina 'Chris' Sierra, first year, class 1-B! I didn't get to tell you that this morning." She said (or rather shouted somewhat) as she held her hand out to him. So he was correct with his assumption of her being a first year, but he was also probably right about her being oblivious to how things were run around the school. Something told him that she was either the kind to just flat out ignore such things, or she was the kind of person to pretend she didn't think but internally it would tear her apart on the inside. Whichever one it was it was clear that this 'Christina' had helped him out. Looking down at her hand for a few seconds he took it, not entirely certain that her 'saving' him was a good thing.

He winced as his arm was nearly shaken out of its socket, having to pull his hand back just so he could keep it. The 'Christina' girl laughed a little and apologized, saying that sometimes she didn't know her own strength. Well yeah, seeing that his hand was in pain he could definitely agree! Deciding that he had been deprived from nourishment for too long, he turned and began to leave, knowing that the roof was just another safe haven for him. The youngest wasn't sure just why no one else ever came up to the roof for lunch, but it did work in their favor since that meant little to no distractions. They could relax without any interruptions, talk casually as if no one else was listening, and above all else be themselves during school hours.

However, as he about half way to the stairwell that led to the roof, he finally noticed the extra pair of feet following them. Why in the world would she want to follow them…? Didn't she have friends? God, that would be horrible if she was just hanging around them because she thought they were 'lonely', which wasn't the case since even if it was just the two of them (or rather they weren't _extremely_ lonely). But even while thinking this he didn't say a word, only continuing on since he really couldn't think of anything convincing enough that would make her leave for good. Setsuna had learned from the past that just saying 'shoo' or 'go away' wasn't enough to permanently banish the person from his presence. A reason was needed, a solid piece of evidence that made complete sense to both the shunner and the shunnie.

All of that seemed pretty simple, but since he hadn't the slightest idea as to what would make sense to _her_ he just let it go. As long as she was quiet there would be no problem…but apparently that was asking for too much. The moment the three of them set foot on the roof the talking started. At first it was mainly questions, going from the seemingly normal, like 'you could eat up here?' and 'do you come every day?' to the uncomfortable…'Is your boyfriend coming up?', 'are you two the same age?', 'do you and your boyfriend live together?', and on and on and on! What really bothered him was the constant use of the word 'boyfriend', because Lockon was in no way his boyfriend…he was his husband.

He inadvertently blurted out that the older male 'was not his boyfriend but his husband', to which Tieria's glasses were nearly flung off of his face by the sheer force of him snapping his head in his direction. Yes he had said something stupid, yes he had said it in front of someone he didn't know, and yes he felt absolutely mortified that he had said that out loud, but dammit he didn't want that word to be associated with his husband! Lyle was his boyfriend not Lockon.

She stared at him for a moment, and it was then he thought out his options. She'd either laugh if off as him lying and somehow come to the conclusion that he was not in a relationship with someone, or she would take him seriously and probably leave…which would lead to probably one of the worst outcomes that his mind didn't even wish to fathom. But instead he got something else…something that just did not register with him until she had actually said it…The 'Christina' girl called him and his relationship with his husband 'cute'. _Cute_? Was she serious? As much as the youngest wanted to question the just how genuine her statement was, but he couldn't get over the look she was giving him. It was like he had said something profound; a small twinkle in her eye told him that she had 'found' something she'd been looking for…and not something horrible.

After that very odd moment Christina began to open up, but it was really more along the lines of 'spilling open' since she began to talk nonstop about herself. The first year girl apparently lived in Tokyo, and given her dialect he could easily tell. The Kansai dialect he spoke was different then the Kanto one she spoke; the way she pronounced certain things and the way she used alternate forms of words, it was clear that she had not grown up in Osaka, Kyoto or Kobe. To be more specific she spoke Tokyo-ben while he spoke Osaka-ben, since given just where one was located within the Kansai or Kanto regions also differentiated ones way of speaking from others.

The younger male's way of speaking was slightly harsher then standard Japanese, while on the other hand Christina's way was actually closer to standard Japanese with a few variations here and there. Setsuna knew how to speak in the same dialect as the first year girl, but he chose not to since there really wasn't any point. He wasn't going to Tokyo anytime soon, so why bother with it? He listened as she continued on, saying that it took about thirty minutes by bullet train to reach the town. The youngest wanted to question why someone would want to brave that long of a trip for one school, but he kept the question to himself.

He would occasionally glance over at the second youngest, finding that the look of guilt had been replaced with one of slightly amazement. He couldn't help but wonder if he too had the same look on his face, because what was happening before them was indeed extraordinary. Random students didn't talk to them, didn't tell them the overly elaborate way they came to school or about how they were a part of several clubs. No one ever bothered with them so they returned the gesture, but this startled them. The youngest had thought the first year girl was just there because she was told to be, but after listening to what she spoke of and just how much truth was behind those words…he began to think otherwise.

If she had truly been sent there she wouldn't have been talking about herself, the topic would've been something vague like the weather or their studies. After that the she could start to pick away at them, trying to find the smallest hint of something that could easily be taken back to the 'leaders'. Nevertheless, something seemed off about the whole situation…that malicious aura that he was so use to was in no way near them, and unless she was a damn good actor it was like it had never existed from the start.

"Oh crap! I forgot I have to make a bread run before it's all gone in the cafeteria! Do you two want any?" Christina asked as she got up from her spot against the chain linked fence. The two shook their heads, and with that she quickly sprinted off back down the stairs they had come up. Silence filled the air, and Setsuna knew that both of them wanted to say something, but yet couldn't find the right words to express themselves. It wasn't until the second youngest began to chuckle, his right arm against his stomach while the knuckle of his left hand was pressed against his lip (an obvious attempt to try and stop himself from laughing out loud) that he kenw…

"Was she for real? And I can't believe you talked about Lockon like that in front of a complete stranger." Tieria said, the chuckle about a few seconds from becoming a full on laugh.

"I-I didn't mean to…b-but he's not my boyfriend!" The youngest said, feeling like he about to be teased in some way.

"Oh no, he's your husband who you love so very much." He said as he held his stomach, the laugh he'd been holding back finally coming out full force. Setsuna was sure a little part of Hallelujah had rubbed off on the second youngest, but he would obviously deny it if something like that ever came up in a conversation. But this was a good thing…it had been a while since he had seen the other act like that, actually enjoying himself while on school grounds. At first he thought that part of him had apparently left when the Haptism did, but as he witnessed him laugh he knew that it had just been locked away.

Maybe having that Christina 'Chris' Sierra girl around wouldn't be a bad thing…Tieria didn't seem to mind her at all.

"S-Stop laughing!"


	10. The Festival Chapter

"So, have you screwed your wife into the sheets yet?"

Oh how that question never lost its shock value…His reaction was always the same, since the question was always asked around the same time. A spit-take, always in the direction no one was sitting in and always while he was drinking a peach flavored soda (fortunately not ramune…that would've been a terrible waste). Why…why did he feel it necessary to ask him that? Of course…he had to put just who he was asking into consideration, and because of this he knew it probably wouldn't stop until he gave him a straight answer. But…he couldn't.

Everyone knew that because he was nineteen and living practically alone with his wife…certain things were obviously expected. Only in Hallelujah's delusional little world did it seem 'alright' for him to bring up the privet lives of others, and it was at those times that the oldest had to seriously reevaluate the 'elder' Haptism's mental state. He knew that it was just the kind of person he was, and he was pretty sure he and Setsuna got along so well _because_ of the fact the two of them never beat around the bush. They could've so easily ruined someone's day if they were ever left along with a stranger, the person in question either leaving in tears or feeling completely pissed off. However their bluntness did have differences; the youngest was always frank about everything while the other was only frank about certain thing…usually the embarrassing topics.

There was another big difference the between the two of them…that being that he actually _enjoyed_ Setsuna's blatant disregard for how he came off to others sometimes. He always told him what he wanted flatly, always told him what he wanted to hear no matter how harsh it sounded, and always told him with he _**did not**_ like without any hesitation in his voice. It was nice to know that the person he loved didn't hold back, because even though he was good a guessing games, he in no way wanted to play them when it came to the younger male. It was mainly because every time he'd done such a thing, he found out something horrible about his wife's past.

Neil still very much played the 'I figured something out but won't tell you' game, but he didn't hold on to it as long as he use to. In the past it would've been days, but now it could only hold it in for maybe an hour or two. God did he hate learning about Setsuna's past…to know that he was so terribly mistreated by the people that were supposed to be kind to him left more then a bad taste in his mouth, wishing that he had been there to at lest fend them off. The oldest had replayed the scene so many times in his head…

His wife always seemed around the age he was currently, and was getting himself picked on by someone his own age. Not wanted his thoughts to be too specific with just what kind of evil deed the other children would do, it was always different from hair pulling to kicking. However, that kind of behavior would never last long. The oldest would come in, usually older then his wife (three years like he already was), and basically punch the living daylight out of whoever was messing with his loved one. The constant praise from Setsuna he knew was nothing more then his overactive imagination, because honestly he would probably never utter the words 'thank you so much Lockon! This is the reason I love you!'…yeah, he might actually get himself hit rather hard if he ever told the other about his bizarre fantasies.

But at lest nothing like that was actually happening to the youngest anymore…well he hoped nothing like that was going on. His wife was always so vague when it came to school, never telling him anything other then 'it was fine'. He knew the youngest was the kind of person who found details unimportant, but dammit he wanted to know if he was alright! But his wife had given him more then the usual explanation a month ago, and from then on he was pleasantly surprised at how talkative he'd become (or as talkative as he thought Setsuna would get about school).

The oldest was in a good mood that day, he had earned himself a rather good grade on a test and his wife had allowed him to actually venture little ways past his neck (so now he had access to the very top of his chest and up). Neil knew very well that the younger male was in no way ready to go all the way, but the real problem was that he himself _was_ ready. He said he would wait for the other, he said he'd only touch him when he was permitted to…but all of this in no way suppressed the desire inside of him. He wasn't going to lie and say he didn't think about it often, to have the person he loved so deeply _that _close to them. The oldest did control himself rather well, though he did catch himself staring a little too intently at him sometimes.

Neil never acted upon the horribly graphic things his mind made up, thing that should only be known in their privet life. Hell, did the two of them even have a private life? Most of the things they did together were know by the others, even the events that took place behind closed doors. Sure he was intimate with his wife, kissing, hugging, and nibbling on him even in public, so that did not mean they had a private life since they did it in…public. He knew his brother had one, because no one really knew just what went on in that apartment of his…he just hoped it didn't involved pictures of Setsuna.

Of course Lyle wanted to do the exact same things he wanted to! They both liked the youngest, right? So it was only natural…but that would be crossing a line. He allowed him to touch and kiss him, but only if his wife said it was okay…that was all. For him to even fathom his brother sleeping with his wife…he didn't even want to go there. He and his brother had a solid relationship…and it would be devastating if they began to detestation the very sight of one another.

It was the around seven o'clock, and that time meant only one thing to the youngest…anime. The three of them always had dinner according to what anime came on, and given the day also determined just how long the youngest was going to be up. For example if it was a Wednesday (like it was that day) dinner would be ready at six, and from the hours of seven to nine all of Setsuna's attention would be fixated on the TV. He always studied before dinner, so that took care of the 'working into the wee hours of the morning' problem. The younger male always denied such a pattern, saying that his daily habits in no way revolved about a simple 'hobby' of his…he was such a cute child.

It was a part of his wife that he always loved to see…his otaku side. To be more precise he was a 'closet otaku', someone who refused to believe what they really were deep down. It was rather fun shopping with him, since the younger male always acted upon instincts. Neil watched as he practically bolted for the bookstore whenever they were near, spending about thirty minutes just looking for the right manga. If they ever passed the toy store and there was a model of some sort of mech he knew about in the window, the youngest would always stop and marvel at it. He had even gone so far as to set the ringtone for his phone to be the opening song of one of the many shows he watched, though he did change it from time to time (mostly depending on his current interest).

The oldest had thought about taking him to Akihabara or maybe Den Den Town (since it was closer), but did have a slight fear of Setsuna losing all of his self restraint and completely running wild there. It didn't really seem like he would ever do such a thing given how he usually acted whenever the topic of anime ever came up in conversation, so he would probably just ask why he was there and act like he was not at all impressed with what was going on around him. That denial would eat away at his wife until he saw something that truly captivated him, and then…well, it'd just go from there.

It would've been quite the nice sight…to have his wife eagerly walking around with that childlike look on his face, completely forgetting about whatever was troubling him as he browsed through store after store. That was why he could not object in any form to the younger male's obsession; the only time he really saw him act like a child, act his own age instead of portraying himself as years older, was when he was either engrossed in the new mange he had brought or whenever one of the many shows he watched was on. He was only sixteen, and sure certain things were expected out of him. That didn't necessarily mean he had to be an adult just yet, but nevertheless he still continued to believe that he was no longer a child. Even if he hated being called one he was still very much one…

He and his brother were watching whatever the younger male was, though he did glance over at him every now and then just to see that oh-so wonderfully fascinated look of his face. Setsuna had specifically told the two of them to not talk until the commercial break, since he 'didn't want to miss a thing'. The two of them always followed that rule, because there was nothing like a pissed off Setsuna that had missed a crucial part of his show. He too did enjoy watching the same thing his wife did from time to time, finding it interesting even if it was animation. The oldest wasn't really sure if his brother was there because his wife was, or because he still liked that sort of thing…Neil was really hoping for the latter. Of course the three of them still watched _Gundam_ together, it now only coming on Sunday nights which wasn't a real problem.

Once a commercial break finally decided to pop up, the youngest had to lie against the floor because even he needed a break from staring nonstop at the medium sized device. He moved a little, positioning his upper half against his lap while his legs rested against Lyle's lap. He always did this whenever there was a break, but would immediately return to his sitting position whenever the show came back on. Nothing all that important was spoken during this time, but when he heard a small 'I met someone today' come from below him he could help but look down.

His wife began to tell him that the 'someone' went by Christina 'Chris' Sierra, and was apparently the one of the girls he had spoken to on the bus. That surprised him slightly, since he didn't actually think the younger male would ever run into them. Well of course they would 'run into' each other, and the surprising aspect of it all was that, given how his wife usually acted around people he didn't know, he seemed to have spoken more then two words to her. That was new…He never really went into what the two talked about since the commercial break had ended, meaning that everyone needed to be silent until the show ended.

The next following weeks his wife came home…he wouldn't say 'chipper' since he still seemed pretty much the same, but there was some kind of change. He still pretty much gave him the standard 'school was alright', though he did go into more detail about what went on during lunch. 'She said this', 'they did that', 'they talked about this', 'Tieria said that', and so on and so forth. It was easy to tell that he was editing himself, but Neil was just glad that his typically silent wife was opening up about something he never really had before. Had…a miracle just occurred on those school grounds? Had Setsuna actually found someone other then Tieria to talk to, someone he hadn't know for six years?

Yes…he could certainly say it had…However, he did wonder why he only talked one girl opposed to both of them. The oldest was informed that the other girl (who's name was Feldt Grace) didn't come around that often since she was part of the school band, which meant she had to spend all of her free time practicing for the culture festival. That seemed reasonable given that the band was one of the more important attractions of the festival, and since the event was taken as such a big deal obviously everyone in a club or sport needed to practice months before it actually took place. It was a big deal for the school, because not only were the students representing themselves but the entire student body…or so he was told while he attended.

The six of them never actually joined any clubs, so their festival participation was limited to whatever their class was doing. It was mainly due to their close relationship, and not having everyone who was currently attending on the roof made the entire forty-five minutes seems somewhat empty. Knowing that he felt horrible for leaving the two of them alone in high school, and he was rather pleased with Setsuna skipping a grade. There was no telling just what would've happened if he was left alone, if he didn't speak to the people he known for so many years. He already knew what would happen if the younger didn't speak to _him_ for a certain duration of time, having been away from each other for an entire week.

Neil hated camping…period. If he had his way the whole thing would be banished from the face of the Earth. But of course if he hated something long enough it would come to bite him rather hard, and the bite just happened to come in the form of the second year outdoor education…aka, the camping trip. Had he actually known that such an event existed, he would've gotten the 'privilege' of going taken away from him like his brother had to avoid the whole thing (he hated him so much for leaving him alone like that). Camping sucked, camping sucked, camping sucked so much! It didn't have to do with him being outside, oh no, he was indeed an outside person if the situation called for it. What he hated was the feeling of something watching him, and the fear that that something was going to eat him if not careful. He knew it sounded idiotic, but he just knew something was out there…

The oldest wasn't spoiled so he knew the importance work, however…when it came to working outside, in the heat, being couched by lazy upper classmen that decided to tag along for the hell of it…he always felt about five seconds away from catching the bus home. He'd played in the forest before, gotten himself lost in the forest before, he _lived_ near the forest, and hell, he'd even rescued his wife from the raging stream in the forest during a horrible storm…but being there at that moment made him want to lose him mind! He stayed because he needed to be there for his classmates, and it only made the punch he so desperately wanted to give Lyle upon his return even sweeter. Oh…he was going to get it…

No matter how many tents he pitched, hikes he went on, meals he cooked (they took him off that station fairly quickly), the only thing on his mind was how much he missed the youngest. He knew the other missed him, and it pained him to know that he had left him back home for so long. Maybe…he'd hit his brother depending on how well he'd taken care of Setsuna for him, and he better have been doing a good job. There was no telling what kind of state the youngest had gotten himself into, so he just left it up to his brother to make the right decision.

And he was so very glad he had a twin. The moment he returned he was given an update as to what had actually happened to his wife. Apparently the youngest had spend most of his time with Lyle, always coming over when school ended and not leaving until the next morning. During their time together (which they had a lot of since his brother didn't need to attend school) the youngest did nothing but stay near him, never speaking all that much and seemingly never having the energy to do anything. They didn't sleep in the same futon, but the youngest did sleep near him once night finally fell. His brother tried to get him to speak, tried to get him away from the fact that his husband was gone. He said it worked to a certain degree, though he was still pretty much moping the entire time. Well…it was nice to know his wife was being taken care of…but he still punched him, just not as hard as he had originally planned.

"J-Jeez Hallelujah, could you say that a little louder?" Neil coughed out, still hating that his reaction to said question was always the same.

"I'm just asking. I mean you two are young, so that means lots of dirty se-"

"Oi, you're on break so stop the perverted comments," Graham started as he swatted the back of the 'elder' Haptism's head, "And for the last time, get off the counter."

Hallelujah muttered a few curses as hopped down from the front counter, the fact that the blonde was his boss still irritating him to no end. Out of the six of them only four actually worked, those four being himself and his brother as well as both Haptism. He and Lyle needed to pay rent, so it only seemed logical for them to get jobs, right? Their work days were different; Neil only worked on Tuesday and Thursday while his brother worked weekends. Of course it was only a part-time job because having a full one meant interfering with their class time, and the two of them already had enough issue when it came to their studies (they weren't the best of students…but that didn't mean they were horrible).

Allelujah worked because he said it was 'a good way to gain experience', while on the other hand Hallelujah was actually forced to work. Apparently the blonde had been paying for the cat (who now only seemed to like the 'elder' Haptism) that lived in the forest, and therefore needed to pay him back. How funny that was…The two of them worked on the same day, while Allelujah worked when Lyle did worked. Funny wasn't it? The 'older' twins worked during the week, while the 'younger' ones worked during the weekend. Though that sounded nice, it was clear that the saying 'never work with friends' was very true. They were productive but compared to their oh-so talented boss they were slackers, which was why all four of them were dubbed 'The Slacker Pack'. They did get the job done…it just took a little longer.

"Come on Boss, aren't you the least bit curious about the privet life of one of your employees?" Hallelujah asked while leaning against a wall, which just happened to be his second favorite pose.

"No during work hours." Their blonde manager answered truthfully, sounding as if he really didn't have any interesting in the conversation.

"See? Not everyone has the same warped thinking as you, Hallelujah-"

"I said 'not during work hours'"

Those two were the worst…It wasn't like there was anything to really talk about, but he didn't want them knowing that he and his wife hadn't actually done anything in bed yet. It wasn't shame or embarrassment he felt, it was just something only he and Setsuna could talk about. Well…they didn't really talk about it, rather bringing it up and shooting it down after about one minute. Neil never really thought much of how quickly those conversations always went…but maybe that was the problem. The two of them really needed to _talk_ about said issue; it wasn't like they were going to set dates or anything, rather just the two of them talking about what that three lettered word really meant to them.

He wouldn't do it right away, probably waiting a little longer until he felt that it was actually important enough to bring up. After their break was over it was back to work, or as much work as the two of them were going to get in. Working for a military brat turned diehard florist was rather challenging, which was another good reason to have someone else work with them. Graham liked things a certain way, saying that if anything was off the flowers would not be at their best. He treated them like people, each one having their own individual wants and needs. One set was not supposed to be treated like another, they were their own, well, flower and if anything they were to be cared for like a small child. He understood this…TLC was needed when tending to something so delicate, and he dealt with them the same way he dealt with his wife.

Just because he did something idiotic and got himself poked by those obvious thorns, it didn't mean he'd give up. It didn't mean it, only protecting itself from the world around it because small thing didn't know any better. If he was kind, if he let it see that it was alright for it bloom then it would over time. Setsuna was just like those flowers…even if he had 'bloomed' and opened up, it didn't mean those thorns of his were completely gone. Given how the younger male's personality was, it would be rather absurd for him to believe that they could be completely gotten rid of. But…if he could just shave a few more off of them then maybe…maybe he could at least get him to enjoy the world a little more.

Work was long and hard, but once it finally ended the two of them were finally allowed to leave. He wanted to get home as quickly as possible, knowing that the youngest was probably on the verge of depression. If it was ever a work day that meant his wife would be over at Lyle's apartment, probably working on homework or taking a small nap. He really did work too hard for someone his age…he wasn't a middle aged office working that actually needed to be that way in order to get his next paycheck. He was a high school kid, nothing more nothing less. Neil had always knows the youngest was smart, and seeing that he had skipped an entire year only reinforced his thinking. It was even more reason for his wife to slow down, because no matter how much he tried to hide it he was stressed.

There was just something about him that practically screamed 'I need a break', but the oldest still allowed him believe that he hadn't noticed a thing. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't very well confront him about this. It was a serious issue no matter how much he looked at it, but he had a different way of dealing with it. The culture festival was tomorrow after all…

"It's a tea house." The 'elder' Haptism said from behind them.

"Huh?"

"Their theme, it's a tea house." He said, adding an 'I'm not saying it for a third time' tone. A tea house? Interesting…The thought of Setsuna serving him tea was the first thing that popped into his mind, and he wasn't sure if he would be able to contain his excitement. Since the festival was indeed the next day, the oldest was allowed to ditch his classes since his 'relative' was participating. As much as he wanted to say 'his wife was participating', but he was sure his teachers wouldn't have believed him. His brother and the Haptism twins followed suit, so that meant the four of them would be surprising both Setsuna and Tieria.

He never actually told his wife he was coming, nor had he heard the other say he could or could not come. It wasn't _really_ a school day, so it seemed like he'd be intruding on anything. He'd come before and there weren't any issues, right? Why shouldn't he come this time? As a husband he should support his wife no matter how small or big the event was…that's what he thought. The youngest wasn't a part of any of the school athletic teams, so he couldn't really attend any kind of practice or game to cheer him on. He probably wouldn't allow him even if he did…The oldest wouldn't go so far as say his wife was ashamed to be around him, seeing that he was actually allowed to hug and kiss him in public. It really seeming like when it came to school and home his young wife wanted to keep them as a separate affair, keeping the two as far apart from one another as possible.

Now why would he want something like that? Not wanting to dwell on something that was obviously deeper then he wanted to admit, he walked to the bus stop while the 'elder' Haptism continued to pester him about want _really_ went one in his apartment. Nothing went on! They slept together just not in _that_ way, they were intimate but they never went that far, they were together and yet nothing went on. Neil wanted to say that out loud, but he knew that the second oldest had a way of twisting thing to the point where anything could be completely taken out of context. Wasn't he an photography major? Didn't that entitle him to see thing for what they really were? If that was true then he liked playing games a little too much…

"For the last time, drop the subject. It's really not that important." The oldest said as they reached the bus stop, plopping down on the bench as he sighed.

"Not important? You know, people who say that either haven't done anything yet or have gone all the way." Hallelujah said, taking a seat next to him.

"No, it means you don't need to know what goes on between me and Setsuna."

"So you two have done it!"

"W-We haven't done a thing!"

Damn, he fell right into that didn't he? Neil would've been called an idiot if his wife was there, and on top of that hit for saying something like that. The youngest hated being talk about, and it didn't matter if it was in a kind or teasing way. He did let a few things slide like the conversation on the bus, though the end result would be him getting jabbed sometime after the event (luckily he had been spared for this that night). The oldest couldn't help but talk about him, wanting to show just how much he loved him that wasn't physical. He could touch him, kiss him, and nip at him as much as he wanted but until he said those words his actions meant nothing.

The oldest said he loved Setsuna at lest four times a day, said that he was happy he was married to him two times a day, and only told him that he could tell him anything once a week. That might've been a little excessive, but it seemed to make up for the lack of acknowledgement the youngest gave him. He didn't mind if his wife didn't say it vocally, because Neil knew that deep down he felt the same way he did. That bond was there, the one that was different from the ones they shared with the others. Even if his affections weren't frequent they were still there, and he loved every minute of it.

The youngest constantly gave silly reasons for his actions; if he was leaning against the oldest or had his head in his lap, it was because he was sleepy. If he kissed him it was because he thought there was something on his face. If he was hugged then it was because he wanted to 'make sure he was wearing clean clothes'. It was his wife's way of feeling comfortable when dealing with his feelings, but he couldn't hide that familiar blush that was always present every time he attempted something.

Once the bus finally arrived Neil really couldn't get excited just yet, since he still had to ride the damn thing until the first stop with a rather mouthy Hallelujah. What would he give to go back and stop himself from saying something so stupid…The two had the bus to themselves, so they chose to sit near the back. Unfortunately Hallelujah decided to sit behind him, which basically meant the pestering was just about to start…and it was. The second youngest went on and on, telling him that if he wanted to lose his virginity before he turned twenty he needed to act fast. It wasn't about that! If the only thing he wanted out of Setsuna was that, then he probably would've been more forceful with him. He never once thought about forcing him down, and he knew the reason why his mind never fathomed such a thing.

His relationship with the youngest was sacred, and if he did something as stupid as basically rape him it would end it without a doubt. To lose someone like that would be devastate him, and there really was no telling what would become of him.

"You keep talking about me and my cute wife, but I wonder…" Neil started, noticing the look on the 'elder' Haptism's face, "What about Tieria and you?"

Silence…he had finally said something to shut him up. But he actually curious to know what he was going to say, or rather…do. He looked at him blankly, and the oldest wasn't sure if he should back up or not. However it was not necessary; Hallelujah stretched himself along both seats, placing his arms behind his head as he relaxed against the window. He told the oldest that he would've loved nothing more then to ask Tieria out, but there were two things preventing this. The first was his brother's feeling, because no matter how dense he might've been he knew there was _something_ telling him that he actually liked the second youngest. Neil had to hold back a small chuckle to this…

As much of a jerk as Hallelujah put himself out to be, he really did have a soft spot when it came to family and friends. He probably would never do anything that would mentally harm his brother to the point of doing long term damage, so if he wanted to do anything with Tieria it would become a delicate matter. But the smile the oldest wore was quickly wiped off his face when the 'elder' Haptism began to move on to the second reason, and he too couldn't help but see reason behind his logic. The second youngest said that Tieria's cousin was someone he did not like in the slightest…and even though he had only met him once he felt that something was off about him. Because of this he felt like if he ever became close to the second youngest then something horrible would happen to him, something he'd be responsible for.

So Neil and his wife weren't the only ones…everyone had met the man at least one (the second youngest much more since he, well, lived with him), and he had originally thought they were the only ones who deducted that there was something sinister about him. Setsuna had brought it up first, saying that he just flat out disliked the man but the oldest just took at as his general reaction to new people. But then he had the pleasure of meeting other gentlemen himself…Now he wasn't one for hating people right off the back, but this seemed to be a special case.

"So what are you going to do?" The oldest asked, finding that his old friend was in quite the predicament.

"I'll wait obviously. There's nothing I can do now, so until that time where I can actually tell him comes that's all I can do. It might sound cheesy and stupid, but what else can I say?" Hallelujah admitted, directing his attention out the window. Wow, for someone who wasn't really known to be a deep person…that was surprisingly deep. Or maybe he in actuality was a deep person but never let it show, instead making people think he was nothing more then a perverted jerk. Yeah, that seemed like the kind of game the second youngest would play.

Thankfully that conversation had completely made the slightly younger male forget about the pervious topic, so it was on to random things. As long as it wasn't about his non-existent sex life he didn't care, because he didn't like talking about something that wasn't there. The ride to any stop was never long, so when the bus finally pulled into the village they weren't completely surprised by the suddenness. He really did miss home…he did visit from time to time, usually around the holidays or if it was someone's birthday. He thought about moving back a few times, but he was growing up so the oldest had to learn to live without his parents…even if his wife did on occasion act like his mother.

"Well I'll see you tomorrow, oh and go easy on the kid when you actually do deflower him, 'kay?" Hallelujah said as he began to exit the vehicle, making anything profound he had said during the ride completely fly out the door. But even with his pervertedness those words did have a slight hint of concern in them, which only reinforced his thinking that the second oldest wasn't all that bad. The next stop was his apartment, and he reminded himself to act as natural as possible so he wouldn't give himself away.

The oldest didn't want to give any kind of hints, not wanting to his wife to catch on to anything. Hopefully his brother hadn't opened his big mouth, because he had a tendency to let onto things that the younger male could so easily pick up on. It wasn't like he was terrible at keeping secrets, Lyle just had a harder time keeping things from the youngest no matter how small it seemed. It was just a little white lie that he had to deal with until the next day, and the outcome would be rather pleasant if he managed not to say a thing. After all, how often did they see Setsuna at school? Never, that's how. He had wished a few times for the age difference between them wasn't three but two years, therefore he would've at lest been with the youngest for one whole year.

But alas, there was nothing he could do to change the past. Leaning back a little he looked out the window and saw that the village has completely disappeared from view, which left him with a slight homesick feeling. He was still a child in some respects, but that didn't mean he couldn't still be one in the near future. Growing up was a fact of life, but no one ever said how soon that was supposed to happen. As far as he was concerned he was pleased with the way he was, his happy-go-lucky attitude made being around people more enjoyable. His mother had told him once that he got his outgoing personality for his father, while his brother obtained his somewhat withdrawn outlook from her…at lest when she was younger she added.

That was slightly surprising to hear, and it just meant his brother would _completely_ grow out of his reserved nature at some point. He would miss it once gone, since it would mean his usual interaction with Setsuna would change as well. It was beyond amusing watching him flirt with his wife…because it would always backfire on him. Once of the worse and probably funniest attempt would've been the one he tried to pull three months ago…so priceless. When his wife was tired he was tired, and with his drowsiness came the rapid weakening of his common sense. He was liable to say anything if spoken to in that state, which was exactly why Neil chose not to. He would've much rather heard some sort of confession when the younger male was more then semi-conscious, and seeing that he always denied whatever he had said during that time him decided against the action more.

However, his brother did not know this. It was one of those rare days where his wife came home extremely exhausted, so much so that slept through the entire afternoon. Before he actually fell asleep he tried to prepare dinner for them, but it just ended up being instant noodles. He and his wife didn't always eat over at their apartment, sometimes decided that his brother's apartment needed more life. The youngest was practically lying against the ground, the bottom half of his body lie in Lyle's futon while the other half upper half was resting in Lyle's lap. He didn't mind the two being like that, and since the younger male was sleepy there was no way he could move him. He looked so…peaceful! He couldn't disturb that!

Out of the corner of his eye he could see his brother playing with his wife's hair, the youngest looking up at him with a slightly dazed look about him. He was trying to be romantic, saying thing along the lines of 'you look really cute when you're like that' and so on and so forth. How cheesy he was…but Neil too had his moments so he couldn't really say anything about it. The oldest heard something like 'you're cute enough to kiss' come from his brother, but really didn't much…until he heard a muffled noise right after it. Quickly looking over he saw that his wife's lips were connected with Lyle's, but given the 'mmph!' that his brother was making it seemed pretty forced.

He went through two feelings at that time, the first being shock. Setsuna was…_kissing_ _him_? _**Willingly**_? He let that run through his mind a few times before it went 'hay wait!' since he was not the one being kissed. He might've said he wouldn't fight over him anymore, but nowhere in that statement was it expressed that he wouldn't feel jealous from time to time. Neil was about to break them apart, but once he caught sight of his brother's face he was swiftly brought into his next emotion…amusement. Obviously he wasn't expected that, and the huge blush on his face said that he in no way knew how to react. He couldn't help but laugh at this, because no matter how much Lyle hated to admit it…the youngest was his one true weakness.

Upon leaving the bus he made his way to his apartment, having a little stretch as he did so. This was his second home, because there really was nothing that could replace the home he was raised him. He wondered if his wife felt the same; he was born in the States but moved to Japan when he was nine, so did that mean he held some sort of attachment to it? The younger male never spoke about the place he spent the first nine years of his life, so that either meant he didn't care for it or there was something else he wasn't telling him. His wife's past was filled with abuse by his own peers, he knew this, but what else was there? Was there really no saving grace while he was there? If that was true it really did hurt…

Walking into his apartment complex he discarded his shoes, placing them in a small cubby with his room number labeled on it. After properly placed, he made his way up the stairs to the second floor as he hummed some kind of tone to himself…probably the opening or ending to one of the shows Setsuna watched. They were rather catchy, he'd admit that. Since today was Thursday it meant noodles, and since it was already seven fifty-five his wife would be glued to the TV for the next few minutes. The youngest told him that Thursday, Friday and Saturday were 'slow' days went it came to anime, so that either meant he'd fill the remaining time with studying or…well just studying. He had accused the younger male of being a 'study bug' just to tease him, but of course it just earned him a jab to the side and a 'shut up'.

Once he reached the right room, he rummaged through his pockets for a few quick seconds. He owned keys to both his and his brother's apartment, because it just made coming and going easier. It also helped him enter without disturbing them if it was 'no talking anime time', and the last thing he wanted to have an irritated Setsuna answer the door if he ever knocked. But as always he opened the door with ease and found a somewhat usual sight; the youngest was sitting at the table, head down as it rested against his crossed arms. He looked bored, but in truth he was focusing on every little detail of what he was watching. His brother was surprising asleep though, his head in the younger male's lap as his arms wrapped loosely around his waist.

It was a pretty hectic day for the two of them, since they had to take three tests in three different classes. They pretty much had the same schedule, so whatever kind of hellish fate awaited one would await the other. Quietly closing the door behind him, Neil walked over and took a seat next to Setsuna, who had not acknowledged his presence in the slightest. It would pass, and seeing that the show looked to near its end it would only be a matter of time.

And of course, he was correct.

"I'm back, my cute wife." He said while leaning against him, placing a hand on his shoulder and pulling him close.

"Good…and stop calling me that." His wife said, pushing him away slightly.

"But you love it!" Neil said, wrapping bother arms around him.

"C-Cut it out! I don't like it! I hate that stupid name!" The youngest said, trying to pry him off but instead only making them fall back against the ground. Lies! All lies! If he really hated the name so much wouldn't be blushing so much! He struggled a little, but Neil knew that he actually wasn't trying to get away.

"You do love it, Setsuna-chan." The older male said, gently rubbing his cheek against his. And that was that. His wife's struggling had stopped, knowing that there was no way he could win. That was the truth…if Lyle's weakness was Setsuna, then Neil was definitely his wife's. Whenever the youngest become like he was, saying he hated something when he clearly didn't, it really only took a few simple word and actions to make that poker face of his break down. It was rather amusing to see it fall so easily, but as soon as it was gone it went right back up once he finally accepted that he had no way out.

He turned his wife's head a little and pressed his lips against his, feeling him tense up for a quick second before he actually kissed him back. He wasn't as shy as he use to be, in the past either never kissing him back or just parting the moment their lips touched. But that had changed…when the two would perform such an action he didn't pull away or it was almost unnoticeable if he did. It always felt nice when they were like this…the two of them on the floor, close, alone-

"What a way to wake up…"

Oh right, they weren't alone. Parting, he looked over and found his brother sitting up as he yawned, looking slightly groggy since he had been disturbed from his sleep. Neil quickly apologized because he was one that made his wife fall back, which basically threw off the position of the two. Lyle just shook his head, saying that he probably should've been up anyway. That was true since, well, the two of them _still_ had to study…but maybe putting it off wouldn't be a completely bad thing. But of course they would get themselves hounded by the youngest, but the scolding would be worth it since they'd (hopefully) be served tea the next day by his cute wife.

* * *

It had been quite some time since he had graced the hallways of such a building, and he had to say that nothing had really changed. It was nostalgic to say the least, but he could reminisce later.

After cuddling with his wife for a few more minutes, he decided that it was probably best to get his noodles started (since his stomach was telling him to rather loudly). It really didn't take much to cook instant noodles, which was why before the youngest decided to stay with him he and his brother ate them all the time. But now instead of everyday it was once or twice a week, which probably pleased Setsuna to no end. But there was one little problem with making noodles…once water was added to the small container it needed to be watched, because if it went over a certain amount of time the contents would become soggy. There was nothing worse then eating soggy noodles…well, anything Tieria made was beyond horrible.

He watched it carefully, only looking away once to ask his brother just how long he'd been asleep. He replied an hour and he couldn't help but ask if the 'nap in class did him any good', to which both of them were swatted in the back of the head by the youngest. He told them that sleeping in class wasn't going to help them, but Neil just had to bring up the fact that his wife was also guilty of sleeping while he was supposed to be taking notes. Setsuna had told him that once during his first year he had taken a nap after finishing a test, and the oldest was swiftly reminded that it was 'after a test' and not during when he was swatted again. Maybe he was a masochist…since he really couldn't stop himself from talking, and he really didn't mind getting hit by his wife.

Once he remembered that his noodles were cooking he quickly look back over, but alas…he had talked too long. Upon removing the top he let out a little groan once the mushy contents were revealed, and he could only blame himself for it. So he was stuck with bad noodles for dinner, and neither his brother nor wife were willing to have pity him. The taste was horrible, but he got over it as soon as he finished them (which he did quickly…even if they were hot). He was disappointed, but he put that disappointment behind him as he asked his wife if he wanted to stay over.

It wasn't uncommon for the three of them to sleep in the same room, and since they were going to be doing practically the same routine it wasn't like they were throwing anything off. When he nodded it was the signal for Lyle to retrieve the two extra futons from his closet, which wasn't as organized as theirs. Neil helped his wife clean and store the table they were using, because they really couldn't fit _everything_ inside the tiny room comfortably. To put three futons out and have a table out would mean someone would be crapped, and being pushed against a wall wasn't an option. It happened to him once and it was not at all pleasant…and since his brother was basically smuggling with his wife it only make it more awkward.

Once the futons were laid out, one blue in the center and two green on its sides, the three of them took their respective places. He was always on the right near the wall while his brother was on the left near the door, and Setsuna was always, _**always**_, in the middle. This served two purposes: to make sure the two of them had something to hold onto, and to make sure the other wasn't hogging the younger male. The night always started off the same when the three of them slept together; in the beginning they would be in their own futons, no one touching anyone. But the next day Neil would always be hugging him around the chest, his brother holding him around the waist. Obviously the youngest couldn't move, so he had to wait till at least one of them awaked from Dreamland to actually start his day.

However when it was just the two of them the sleeping arrangement was different, since there was more space and more of a chance that he would have his wife to himself. When the two of them were alone the youngest would always push his futon to the other side of the room, saying that them sleeping together was slightly 'indecent'. He didn't mean that…The oldest would wait ten minutes into their 'rest period' before the mattress was pushed back against his, his wife getting as closer as he could to him. Whenever the younger male did such a thing the Neil consistently asked if he was 'enjoying his stay', to which his cute wife would always reply 'shut up and go to sleep'.

Vulnerability was not something his wife liked to show…or rather he didn't like showing it around other people. He didn't need to hide his true emotions from him, because the oldest knew his wife was human. It was nice sleeping next to the youngest, but it was rather odd when he woke up that morning and found him gone. He actually panicked for a few seconds, thinking that something had gone horrible wrong and that his wife was in need of saving. After his little freak-out his logic started to kick in, telling him that he needed to calm down and remember what that day as. The culture festival…that meant the youngest probably needed to leave earlier then usual. That made sense.

What amazed him slightly was that fact his wife had actually managed to wiggle himself from out of his spot, and had disturbed neither him nor his brother on top of that. Maybe he was really in a hurry…after all that tea wasn't going to make itself, right? Sitting up and yawned a little, noticing a small piece of paper fall off of him as he did so. Upon picking it up he saw that it was a note that read 'sorry, couldn't make breakfast today, had to leave early', which meant the two of them had to fend for themselves. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but the oldest felt that if he touched anything other then the microwave his wife would yell at him later on. So what did that mean? More noodles of course!

Neil shook his brother a little, but given how he was holding his pillow (which he probably thought was Setsuna) it was going to take more then just a good shaking. He'd found that if certain things were said around his twin while asleep they were sure to wake him, and it was a something his wife had yet to learn. He hadn't told the youngest about the quick way to wake up his brother because…well…it involved him. 'Setsuna's getting a divorce', 'Setsuna's leaving you', 'Setsuna's dating someone else', all were examples of little sayings that would make Lyle immediately wake up and scream 'NO!'

As funny as it was to witness (and it was _really_ funny), he couldn't laugh. One reasons being that he couldn't bring himself to was because it would be making fun of his brother's love for the youngest…and that wasn't really the nicest thing he could do to the other. His brother really did have significantly strong feelings for the youngest, and he in no way wanted to test them. The fight they had all those years ago still stuck with him, and it wasn't until much later that he realized just how much passion he put into his words. But Neil was still right regardless…his brother could not love the younger male the same way or as much as he did.

The other reason he didn't laugh was because it worked on him too. One couldn't really laugh at something that could so easily happen to them, so he decided that it would probably be best if he kept his little amused laughter to himself. But he still needed to wake him up, so he positioned himself a little ways away from him and called out 'Setsuna's going to leave you'. As soon as those words left his lips his brother was up as he quickly yelled 'NO! SETSUNA, I'LL DO BETTER!', and by the force of him slinging his body forward was exactly the reason he never got too. His brother frantically looked around for a few seconds, trying his best to located the person who was 'leaving' him…that was until he laid eyes on him.

Of course he gave him the usual 'you unbelievable bastard' look, the one he always had whenever he was woken up in such a manner. Before anything negative could be spoken, he reminded his twin that today was the culture festival and that meant they needed to leave right away so they could meet up with the Haptism twins. It worked since the look seemed to diminished slightly, though obviously it still remained. The three of them weren't morning people…and when that time came they would've rather slept in then actually bother to get up. It would've been nice if he and his wife could sleep in all day, because the kid seriously needed some kind of break.

Maybe they'd go on a vacation sometime soon…yeah, that sounded nice. Before leaving he rolled up and place futon back in the closet, finding himself once again surprised that Setsuna had actually pulled his out from under the two of them. His wife was the kind of person that never liked leaving things undone, and when it came to making something tidy he was always quick to make it right. He was not a neat freak, oh no, he was the kind of person who'd rather take care of the little things before they became something big. To the oldest, however, he saw this behavior as his other half being nothing more then a his usual housewife self, but he never said a word while watching clean the apartment. Of course Neil helped, he was the husband wasn't he? Though he did get himself a little distracted every so often…

The older male needed to return to his room because his brother might've worn the same size clothes as he did, but wearing his brother's clothes wasn't going to be an option today. He wanted to wear something nice, not to say that his brother didn't own anything decent. Maybe he'd wear that his favorite rust colored vest and green shirt his wife liked to so much, because the younger male really did love anything blue or green. Honestly, he'd wear just about anything as long as it wasn't his uniform. He hated that thing…in high school he hated wearing one and in college he hated wearing one. It was just something about looking like someone else that irked him slightly. Yes, he did know he had a twin, but he only had one of those opposed to the over one-hundred male students that dressed in the same manner he did.

The oldest had actually found a loophole in the 'you must wear your uniform at all times' rule during high school, and even though it wasn't much he did exploit it to the fullest. In the god-awful handbook, given to them on their first day, it never stated that students couldn't wear their shirt unbuttoned…so guess what he did? Obviously he wore something underneath it, that being a different colored tank that he would randomly pick up in the morning (usually it was the same green one). The teachers always frowned at him, but there wasn't anything he could do since it was clearly within the rules. But there was a nasty little catch that came along with it…When it was time to change into his fall and winter uniform he couldn't very well keep his shirt open, because even he too became cold when the temperature dropped.

So he was forced to look like others once again…but at least through high school he was allowed to different at some point. Collage didn't have a single loophole; there wasn't a single way he could get around the rules, and as much as he hated it the oldest still sucked it up and went through the day. Uniformity was never really his cup of tea, and for some strange reason people actually thought he was _odd_ because of it. Sure while he attended the school in the village everyone was free to wear what they wanted, but it wasn't until he left that the mentality around him changed. If someone was different, that nail that decided to stick out, they would be looked at as in there was something wrong within their chemical makeup.

It didn't concern him though, the disapproving looks from people he didn't know never really got to him. What they thought shouldn't and wouldn't affect him, and he tried to instill this way of thinking into his wife. Setsuna was far too tense around other people when he was younger, and it did disturb him slightly when he would flinch away whenever strangers came too close. It was even worse if there was a crowed, his wife clinging to him tightly and constantly telling him he wanted to go home. It was a hard thing to watch…so the oldest usually gave in and took him home. Don't get him wrong, his wife was an outgoing person…just not when other people he didn't know where around.

However, Neil still needed to do something about it because having the youngest become locked away against was not going to happen. So he decided to perform an experiment of sorts…the two of them went out by themselves in the middle of the night, just into the northern town. Little by little he would get his wife around more and more people, starting out with the small groups that would form in the cafes and going to the larger crowds that always seemed to be in the arcade. With that continuous exposure came the slight taming of his wife's social anxiety (it taking approximately two whole months). He still had a few minor issues, but they went mostly unnoticed while they were in public.

He knew the youngest wasn't a normal kid, he's known this from the first moment he'd met him, and once he found out about just what he had to go through on a daily basis before moving to the village…he could completely understand his fear. Such a fragile child…Setsuna would probably always be that way, and it would be rather foolish of him to say he'd protect him from everything…but trying was always an option.

Once he was fully dressed he walked over to the small kitchen, reaching into one of the cabinets he pulled out a bowl of instant noodles. The oldest didn't own as many as he use to, having to give up quite a few of them when his wife moved in. It wasn't really a healthy habit for the two of them to have to begin with, eating ramen everyday like it was their only real source of food (which…it kind was at the time). But he'd gladly give up any packaged product if the younger male's home cooking was going to replace it.

Placing the hot water into the now open top, he vowed he would watch it with the utmost concentration. He was not going to eat soggy noodles again! It sounded rather nice, but as soon as he heard a knock at the door his attention went right over to it. It wasn't have been so much of a problem if hadn't answered the door, telling his brother that he'd be right out. He had the attention span of a small animal, didn't he? By the time he refocused on his bowl it was once again too late, and he could only as he lifted the lid. More…soggy…noodles…

Disappointment didn't even come close to what he felt, it was more 'he was an idiot' then anything else. How could he let this happen twice? And for the second time in that week he was forced to eat ramen he had prepared wrong, and for the second time that week no one could help him. He ate them as quickly as he could, because there was only so fast one could eat piping how ramen without burning their mouth. Once it was gone after much struggle he threw the bowl away and walked out the door, joining his brother as they began to walk downstairs.

Earlier in the week he along with his brother and Haptism twins talked about just how their day would unfold; first and foremost they would meet in the northern town bus stop, and from there they would walk to the school. It was somewhat similar to their routine a few years ago, but that was in the past and they needed to focus on the task at hand. The part that was a slight gamble was actually finding his wife's classroom, since he never mentioned what floor he was located on or the room number. They hoped that the school had posted something on the bulletin board, a list of some kind that informed the parent or whoever was coming just where the students were. If not then they would probably spend half an hour asking around, which would be a waste since he was sure Setsuna had not talked anyone while in school (excluding Tieria, Christina, and Feldt of course).

Upon stepping outside they found the bus had already arrived, and not wanting to miss it, the two of them ran for it while yelling 'wait!' They didn't want to hang around for another one since that would only prolong what they wanted, and prolonging what they wanted would result in them getting eager. An edger Dylandy was apparently an annoying Dylandy (or so said Hallelujah), and he in no way wanted to mess up to the mood of such a wonderful day. So when he and Lyle actually managed to catch the bus it was a sign of things to come, that it was going to be a good day for everyone.

Or so he originally thought…

"Dammit, we're never going to find them like this!"

That was slowly becoming their reality. After leaving the bus, in a relatively good mood he might add with the Haptism twins and his brother in tow, walking to the school was quick since none of them could ever forget the path they had taken for from their first to third year in high school. Nothing had changed in the slightest, and given that they had only been away for a few years it was obvious that nothing would differ from their time all that much. He wondered briefly if his teachers remembered him, not that he gave them hell or anything…that was Hallelujah's job.

Neil was the kind of person that did not sit anywhere near the back of the class, did not mind getting call on even if he was wrong, somehow figured out a way to take a short nap, and always joked around with the teacher when he had time. He was one of _those_ students, the one that everyone thought were weird for seemingly enjoying his time his school time. The oldest didn't 'enjoy' school, he just knew how to make the time past so he could actually tolerate it. He knew his brother didn't act like he did in a classroom setting, though he didn't confirm this until his third year.

Throughout their 'school life' the two of them had never been in the same class together, this trend being broken when they entered their third year. It was amazing how diverse the two were, his brother opting to be the 'quiet student that didn't fool around'. Had he always been that way? But that changed as soon as they entered college, both following pretty much the same pattern of 'study and sleep a little'. College was tiresome, and the teachers didn't seem to mind as long as they got what they needed done. It was much more laid back then high school, but as always his wife told him that 'it was still school so he shouldn't be slacking'. He really did want to please him, but the oldest really wasn't the kind of to make studying a daily thing. Cramming was more his thing.

He ALWAYS did well on exams much to the amazement of the youngest (and just about everyone), and with the little notes he took it really did seem like some kind of miracle. He told Setsuna he should try it at least one, but the youngest declined since he would be 'missing too much'. Neil would always watch as his wife worked, be it studying or finishing homework that was due the next day. He blocked everything out until he was done, and the oldest really did mean _everything_. Nothing reached him, not a sound, a motion or a touch…it was like he was locked away in his own head.

Half of the older male's happiness was shot down when the four of them found out that there was nothing posted on the bulletin-board about classrooms, but Allelujah said that the second youngest had once told him where the room was located so there wasn't a problem! That…was a lie. They spent the next thirty minutes wandering around, the 'younger' Haptism soon admitting that the conversation he had with Tieria was quite some time ago and he _**thought**_ he remembered where the class was. Great…just great! Granted it was still morning, but he wanted to spend time then _entire_ day with his wife (or the time he was allowed to)!

"I hate to say it, but Hallelujah might be right…" Muttered Lyle as he looked over at his brother. Despair…utter despair is what he felt at that moment, all of his happiness except for a small sliver was gone and he wasn't sure why he was holding onto it. He was never going to see Setsuna, was he? He would spend the rest of the day wandering aimlessly, never meeting with his cute, tea serving wife.

"I-I'm sorry, this is all my fault…" Allelujah said, seeming to be in the same despair ridden boat as Neil. The 'elder' Haptism told him to forget about it, since there wasn't any point crying over something they couldn't change. Even if that was true, they still didn't know what floor the classroom was on and hoped was seriously starting to dwindle. Maybe they shouldn't have come, maybe they should've stayed home and actually slept the day away.

The four of them began to leave again, and all the while he felt like each step he took got him further away from the youngest. He didn't like feeling so defeated when in such high spirited place, fearing that it might spread to the other students. It was the culture festival…he was supposed to be happy, cheerful, and actually enjoy himself while there…but he couldn't. Since Setsuna wasn't around he couldn't _really_ bring himself to enjoy anything, and even if it was possible for him to have a pleasant time without him around knowing that he was so close was driving him crazy. First floor, second floor, third floor, fourth floor, up and down, it really felt like they'd walked the entire length of the school (which wasn't true since they hadn't found his wife or Tieria).

Time was slowing down, he knew it, making the search seem longer then it probably was. He felt terrible…so terrible that it took him a while to figure out that someone was tugging on his shirt. When Neil finally looked back he was pleasantly surprised to find that he knew the person tugging him, and he wasn't sure which name he should use to address them by. The youngest might've talk about spending his lunch with other people, but he had exactly been descriptive on which girl was which. But then again that was the vagueness the youngest always had when talking about school. So he needed to guess…He said the first name that came to fine, that being 'Chris', and was nearly knocked over when he was hugged.

"That's me! And you're Setsuna-kun's husband- wait…" She said, letting him go and taking a step back, "There's two of you…oh no, did I hug the wrong person?"

"No, I'm his husband. He's Setsuna-chan's boyfriend." He said as he pointing to his brother, earning him looks from the group.

"N-Nii-san, don't tell strangers that!" Lyle stuttered out, and Neil didn't even have to look over at him to know that he was blushing. Well, she wasn't really a stranger since they had a short chat prior to the moment. The oldest explained to the others that he and his had met the girl before, but it didn't make the blush on his brother's face disappear. After a quick exchange of words from the Haptism twins to the younger girl (mainly asking if she was really Setsuna's friend), he noticed what she was wearing and it took him aback a little seeing that she was from Tokyo.

It was an oversized jersey with a matching baseball hat that she wore backwards, but wasn't what she was wearing that surprised him…it was the team. The Hanshin Tigers, or as most people who lived around him called them 'The Pride of Osaka'. They really were though, since he had never met a single person that lived in Osaka who didn't like them and that was saying a lot. All six of them were fans of them, and he knew his wife would probably never admit it out loud that he actually admired them. But how could you not? He'd been told that at least eighty percent of the inhabitants of Tokyo didn't like the Tigers one bit, so he had to wonder about the younger girl's feels for wearing such an outfit.

In truth the Tigers didn't have the best record in the league, and when it came to playing against Tokyo's team they didn't fair so well half of the time, but it was the overwhelming fanfare the team received that balanced it all out. They didn't care about if they lost or won, just that they were getting a chance to play in the name of Osaka! There were cheers dedicated to just them, sports bars open only when they played, and when it came to bad mouthing the team it was a big no…those things made true fans.

Neil would freely admit he'd been following them since he was young…he loved the Tigers, and he was pretty sure that if a game was one it was the only thing that would make Setsuna completely forget about whatever anime he was supposed to be watching. At first the younger male didn't understand the game at all, but after a little explanation and examples he fell for it completely. It was an odd habit he noticed in his wife, that whenever he showed something new to him the youngest would practically obsess over it. It was kind of cute, him asking if they could go out to play ball when the weather was nice. But the two hadn't done such a thing recently, the younger male always saying that he was far too busy to go out. Really now…he was only sixteen but yet sounded like he was thirty-five and had to work six days out of the week.

"By the way, is your class theme sports related?" He finally asked, grabbing her attention.

"Yup! And I might not speak like it, but both of my parents are one-hundred percent kansai born! So of course I was raised on the Tigers! Our room isn't a nice as Setsuna-kun's tea house theme, but hay, we're just first years!"

Wait…has she just said…?

"W-Wait, wait, you know where his room is?" The oldest asked, feeling that little spark of happiness begin to grow.

"Of course, don't you?"

Their…savior! The four of them asked in unison if she could take them to the room, to which she laughed a little and replied with another of course. Finally progress was being made! Maybe he was holding onto that sliver of happiness because he knew he'd need it later on, and with that happiness came the resurrection of the hope that seemed to be nearly six-feet-under not too long ago. They were on the first floor there wasn't any place they could go but up, so they followed Christina up the stairs. So this was it…the oldest really was going to see his wife, he was really was going to see just how elaborate his room was, and was really hopeful about being served tea. Hell, even if the tea was just a part of his delusion he had when the words 'tea house' and 'Setsuna' were put together, the mere fact that the younger would be there would be enough!

The third floor was where they stopped, and if the school had actually placed all of the third year classes on this floor there wouldn't have been a problem. Scattered was the best way to describe the layout of the school, having classes in the most random of places. It was something none of them had ever gotten use to, all of them getting themselves lost at some point or another. Turning a few corners the five of them came to a complete stop, the girl of the group saying that the room was four door down and that 'you seriously couldn't miss it'.

He knew this hallway very well, knew what classroom she was speaking of since it was the very room he had he spent his third year of high school in. Neil felt like kicking himself…_badly_. If only the notion of visiting his old classroom had crossed his mind, then they wouldn't have been drifting around the building without a clue! If only that nostalgic feeling he had upon entering the school had fully kicked in, telling him to revisit this and that, then the time they had wasted could've been used doing something entertaining! The oldest could scold himself much later, because his body was moving on it's own since it knew what it wanted. He was there…he was right…_**there**_! One door, two doors, just two more…just two more doors until he could surprise his wife with his presence.

"He might be mad that we're late, but I guess if he doesn't know it's alright, right?" His brother said, probably feeling as equally peppy as he did.

"Right! He can't get mad if he didn't know- is that my wife?"

However, he stopped just as he was about to pass the third door, witnessing two figures emerge from the room that he recognized without a doubt. The first was the second youngest, dressed in a yukata since he'd probably die of heat exhaustion if he wore a kimono today (it was fairly hot outside, but bearable…just not in a kimono). But what was this? The person that was following him couldn't _really_ be…no…they looked too cute. It was a known fact that there were two types of yukatas, one for males and one for females (the ones the second youngest always wore), but the person following Tieria was obviously not wearing a male one…

His _wife_ was wearing a yukata intended for a female, and the oldest was sure he could die right there from happiness. Setsuna was done up in the similar fashion as Tieria…with a few variations of course. The style of clothing they wore was the same, the pattern being made up of what looked like petals of some kind and they didn't seem like cherry blossoms. Water lilies perhaps? The two major differences between them were the color of the actual outfit and the accessory they worn in their hair. Yes…his wife was wearing something in his hair, and to be more precise it was in front of his left ear, probably clipped to the side of his head. Now _that_ was a lily, with its white petals that extended outwards, the tips looking as if they had been dipped in very light, almost unnoticeable yellow.

Tieria wore his hair back in a ponytail, his accessory being a simple jade butterfly pin that held everything in place. He'd remembered that clip…it was the very same one Hallelujah was rather fond of whenever the second youngest wore it, and because of this he couldn't help but glance over at him. Completely captivated, just as he expected. Why shouldn't he be? The person he felt deeply for was dressed in a lilac yukata, hair held back with a pin the second oldest had admitted he liked quite a bit. He completely understood his feelings, seeing that his wife's garment was colored a, what else, sapphire that made those petals practically dance around his body as he walked. It wasn't wrong that he was looking at his wife's body…but maybe in public it could be seen as such.

"Oi, Setsuna-chan!" He called out, making the younger male quickly turn and look at him. The blank expression on his face was slightly expected, but when he quickly hid himself behind the second youngest he couldn't help but wonder why. Walking over with the others he could see his wife peeking from behind his hidden spot, and the oldest couldn't help but remember that was exactly how they'd met. He still very much cherished that moment, even if he was just a _little_ too straightforward with his actions. He didn't regret them, since he was in love and, never having felt something like that, how else was he supposed to act?

Neil knew he was clingy, knew he was very open about his relationship, but it was only because he didn't want to waste a single minute when he was around the younger male. It seemed like an obsession, but he didn't care. The youngest was someone close to him, and it wasn't like he was isolating himself and his wife from the world, wanting no one to even look at him. There had been enough seclusion in Setsuna's world to last him a lifetime, and the last thing he probably wanted was for his own husband to keep him locked away. He wouldn't do that…

"S-Setsuna-chan, what's wrong?" He asked, glancing over Tieria's shoulder, which made the youngest try to inch his way out of sight (which was technically impossible). The youngest looked at him for a quick second then turned away slightly, as if ashamed that the older male had come. He didn't…really feel that way…right? The thought of his wife not wanting to see him made his heart sink, Neil now feeling that calling ahead was probably in his best interest.

That hurt feeling, though rare, was beginning to make itself known and he really couldn't blame anyone but himself. He started to ask if his wife wanted him there at all, but was quickly stopped when the younger male finally looked over at him. Setsuna admitted that he didn't mind the older male being there, but there was a problem. He paused, eyes darting to the side as a small blush slowly began to form across his face. Wait…he was _blushing_? Why? He opened his mouth a few times, as if trying to find the right words, but in the end he couldn't say anything. Now _**that**_ was scary…Setsuna unable to say what he wanted…yikes.

Seeing that he had apparently lost his will to speak, Tieria decided to step in, adding that the reason Neil's presence was so unnerving to the youngest was because of his fear of being called 'cute'. That was the reason he felt the needed to hide himself? Reaching over he tried to touch him, but before his hand made contact his wife flinched away. Oh…now he understood. He would usually call him an odd child in this kind of situation, but his action seemed completely justified given where they were. Festival or not it was still school; no matter how many times he told the youngest not to care about the options of others, Setsuna was still…well, Setsuna.

It was funny how much the oldest found he overacted to certain situations, getting himself worked up without knowing the full details. Sometimes that was acceptable, but this was one of those times where he needed to laugh at himself for being an idiot.

"Okay, okay, I get it. I won't get all lovey-dovey while we're here." The oldest said, scratching the back of his head as he tried to think of way for him actually keep his hands to himself.

"Really…?" His wife said, coming from behind the second youngest slightly.

"Yes, he means it, now will you please stop acting ridiculous?" Tieria said, pulling the younger male in front of him and towards Neil, "I get what you're feeling, but the hiding is a bit much."

"Heh, that's kinda funny, Tieria understanding the workings of a love struck kid…sort of makes you wonder doesn't it?" The 'elder' Haptism said, since he just _had_ to start something.

"Shut…up…you…pervert!"

And they were off, which probably wasn't the greatest of things since they were inside a building surrounded by people. Of course Allelujah ran after them, yelling that they 'shouldn't be running in the hall' yet at the same time he was committing the very same act. The three of them always did this, be it while they attended high school, or when they were younger; Hallelujah saying something, Tieria chasing him because of it, and Allelujah running after them as he tried to stop the two. The only real way to stop them was to wait till they ran out of steam, which took longer then one would think.

Christina asked if the three running around was normal, and all he could do was sigh a little and nod, an amused look crossing his feature as he watched them fade off into the distance. It was a waiting game with those three, and until someone made a move there would be a continuous lack of progress between them. If something actually _did_ happen, the outcome would be…the oldest wasn't sure if even he had an idea. Was someone's heart going to be broken, or were the three of them going to find some kind of middle ground? Only time could really tell…

"Well since we're, um, here, how about serving us tea, Setsuna-chan?" Lyle said, and seeing that the two of them were related the words 'tea house' and 'Setsuna' probably meant they were on the same wavelength.

"I can't…they kicked me out…" The youngest said, earning him a shocked look from the three of them. Kicked him out? But…why?

"What? Why? Your tea was really good!" She said, looking as if she was five second away from marching in the room and demanding an explanation.

"I wouldn't talk to anyone…" He said, acting as if it wasn't that big of a deal. It actually wasn't, but it shouldn't have gotten him kicked out.

"Huh! But you talked to me!"

"No, you were just talking a lot…"

"O-Oh."

With that came the murder of any and all hope for Neil's fantasy to be fulfilled. He wasn't mad at his wife for getting himself kicked out of his own classroom, instead feeling rather relieved since this now opened up the option of him spending the entire day with him around the school, opposed to the small room he thought he'd spend most of his time in. That made up for everything. Upon telling them this, the mood seemed to perk up. So the four of them went off and finally began to enjoy the fruits of such a wonderful festival, the oldest all the while tried to figure out just what kind of person Christina was.

What? Wasn't he supposed to be a little weary of the people his wife hung out with (he thought his mind was going to malfunction with such an oddly new statement)? Since he never thought the younger male would take to someone so well after only recently meeting them, he began to ask questions off the top of his head. What class are you in? What part of Tokyo are you from? Do you eat on the roof with Setsuna? Are you on any teams? Are you a part of any clubs? On and on he went, and even if some of the questions he asked were already told to him by the younger male, he wanted her to support it. But everything she said matched what his wife had told him, which made the slightly uneasy feeling he had.

Apparently Christina lived in Shibuya, and given the location of the school that meant she had to travel one full hour by train just to reach it. That seemed a bit excessive, and Neil couldn't help but ask why she braved such a long trip every weekday (and of course those few Saturdays). She simply replied that her parents once graced the halls of the school, so that entitled her to do the same. That seemed to be a common trend whenever she spoke about school or home; her parents seemed to have quite a bit of say over what she did, from telling joining the track team to 'suggesting' that she joined at least three clubs.

It seemed that the younger girl didn't have much freewill, but that was how some adults chose to raise their children. The oldest didn't have the jurisdiction to interfere with something like that (well…it didn't sound like a horribly dire situation), so as much as he wanted to ask 'well, what do _you_ like?' he couldn't. It wasn't uncommon for parents to instill the belief that 'work, work, work' was all that mattered, and that a popularity contest was close second. His parents had never hinted or outright told him anything like that, basically wishing him to be an overachiever (not that it was a bad thing). However, they had said that they wanted him to be happy with whatever he decided to do with his life, and he made sure to follow their wishes.

Setsuna's parents were a special case…He'd met them countless times and had gotten to know them, so much so that he found out that the two were actually _concerned_ with how hard their son worked. Sure, they want him to do well in life, but not at the expense of him stressing himself out to the point of…well they didn't want to even think about it. But he did admit he felt the same way, which was why the two of them actually allowed the youngest to move in with him. They thought that if their son spent more time around his husband, then he'd be more inclined to work a little less. He was trying! He really was! His wife was stubborn without a doubt, so set in his ways that actually getting him to break away from the 'study bug' habit of his was a hassle. Neil just needed to try harder, that's all there was to it.

Once his round of questioning was over hers began, though she evidently only wanted to ask him one thing. Oh yes…the 'how long have you two known each other' question. It wasn't an annoying one, rather one that made him think about the old days and make him remember how much he loved musing over the past. Instead of telling her the oldest reaching into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, showing her the photo he always kept with him. It was one of the many group photos taken when the six of them were smaller, and everyone was in their usual positions.

He was hugging his wife around the neck, a rather jaded expression on the younger male's face. His brother was next to him with his usual blush on his face, probably because Setsuna was holding his sleeve. Hallelujah and Tieria were too busy fighting to realize that a picture was being taken, the 'elder' Haptism tugging on his hair while the second youngest pulled on his. Allelujah was once again trying to be a peacekeeper, trying his best to pull them apart but still failing at the same time. It was just another day for the six of them, and of course the thought of laughing occurred to him since their behavior was so normal to all of them. The three fighting, his brother blushing at the slightest touch from the youngest, and the youngest acting as if everything going on around him didn't matter…he'd grown up with _all_ of it.

As he expected her first reaction was giving off a high pitch squeal of joy, Neil having to quickly pull it away so he could keep it in one piece as the lone girl of the group tried to grab it. He'd let her look, just not tear it apart. The older male showed it to her again, saying that she couldn't grab it since it was his only copy. The lone girl nodded as she gazed at it, looking completely captivated by the sight of miniature versions of the people she knew or had just met. When she asked just how old everyone was in the photo, he was given a quick look from Setsuna. He hadn't even said anything yet! But maybe that was it…maybe his wife didn't want him telling Christina how old everyone was because it meant revealing the age gap between the two of them.

Did that even matter? Neil didn't think so…He told her their ages, starting with his wife, who was ten in the photo, and ending with himself. That did not go over well with the youngest…He growled out a loud 'Lockon!' basically telling him that he probably should've kept his mouth shut. Before the youngest could thoroughly scold him, he watched as the young girl quickly took the younger male's hand and called him her 'ultimate uke'. Neil hadn't a clue what she meant by that (other then the word having something to do with martial arts), but apparently his wife and Lyle did and given their reactions he wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing.

They were both blushing deeply, the younger male more so then his brother. Setsuna had a somewhat horrified look on his face, while on the other hand his brother looked to have a strange mix of slight amusement and shock on his. His wife quickly reclaimed his hand, telling her that it was 'completely indecent' to say something like that around other people. So…'uke' was something bad…? The conversation apparently stopped there, the younger male quickly walking away and the three of them quickly following him. Neil wanted to ask his brother what she was talking about, but he looked like he was in no condition to speak. Since the air seemed pretty heavy, he decided to drop the issue and continue enjoying the festival. He'd bring it up later.

And it stayed that way for three hours. There was always something to do wherever they went, from games to food and even without looking he could tell his wife was having fun. He was so subtle with his emotions, be it his almost unnoticeable smile that could be missed so easily or the small laugh that could be easily taken as a cough. He'd been around the younger male long enough to know what those awkward movements of his meant, and of course he noticed the youngest only displayed such subtly when in public. It was much easier and common to catch him smiling or laughing when inside, basically away from other people. Knowing that it was probably wrong of him, the oldest would sometimes _deliberately_ act in a perverted just to get a rise out of his wife. Those wandering hands of his knew what they were doing, given the specific instructions to feel him up but not go _**too **_far.

Through all the fun, food and games he'd mange to win the youngest a goldfish, and since it didn't involve him touching the other it was completely within the 'no lovey-dovey while there' rule. None of them had never really owned a pet before, excluding Hallelujah whose devil cat seemed to wreak havoc in the forest when no one was around. If anything it could be considered a 'wild cat' since it was indeed trained, but it was by no means a house cat. It didn't seem intentional but that feline had taken on the role of the 'Hallelujah of the cat world', and the resemblance in behavior was so uncanny that it seemed to be another fate meeting between two things. The world worked in interesting ways, didn't it? If only they could find a Tieria cat...that would be a sight to see, the two bickering in 'kitty language'.

Neil said he'd buy a bowl for it before they caught the bus home, which approached much faster then expected. Everyone who was not a student needed to leave the grounds, leaving the actual students to clean up everything they'd put up. The oldest began to leave, but not before stopping by the office to pick up 'Terrible Threesome'. It didn't come as any surprise to him that the three had been sent to the main office, since it was a very common while they were in high school for them to visit such a place. It also didn't shock him that the 'elder' Haptism was chatting it up with a few teachers. Of course they still remembered him, because honestly who could forget? When you had a student that came to the main office practically_ everyday_, people tend to take notice.

After bailing them out the entire group walked to the main gate, the older male slightly saddened by the fact he had to leave. He knew he'd see his wife at their hideaway later on, but the problem was that he was leaving in general. The youngest didn't want to part with Setsuna just yet, it feeling as if they had only begun to have fun at such a festive event. He could clean!

"Lockon…" Came a small voice from behind him, a hand gently tugging on the back of his shirt.

"Yes, Setsu-" Was all he could really get out before he felt soft lip press against his cheek, the fish he was holding nearly slipping out of his hands since he obviously wasn't expecting that. He was kissing him…in _public_? The youngest quickly parted, looking to the side a little as that familiar blush crept across his face.

"S-Setsuna-chan, I thought you said you didn't want to be all touchy-feely." He said, pleased without a question by his wife's action.

"Y-You um…just had a piece of rice on your face…Get the fish a nice bowl, okay?" The youngest quickly said the last part as he began to flee, Tieria and Christen following behind him. He heard the younger girl giggle and ask Setsuna something, which only made him speed up. A piece of rice, huh...what an amusing person he was married to…Setsuna's love for him would probably always be expressed in odd ways until he became really comfortable around him, not to say that he wasn't already. It just took more time to reach _that_ level, the one that basically allowed everything to be a free for all. The youngest would freely smile around him, tease him about anything, and just have the two of them become much closer then they already were. It _was_ possible…

Even if his 'private' life was practically non-existent, his relationship was still very much blossoming. Just where was it going to go? How much stronger was it going to get? Or better yet…just what were they going to go through to strengthen it? As much as he wanted everything to be nothing but perfect, that was not how the world worked. The two of them were going to be pushed into some kind of situation, one that would test just how strong that bond of theirs was. But for now he and his wife would live life in bliss, acting completely unaware to what was to come.

The four remaining members of the group left, Neil feeling much better then he originally had. He'd have to repay him later on for lifting his spirits, and he was sure a few marks on his neck would make his wife happy. He knew exactly what they did in their hideaway was called, but he refused to acknowledge it since it meant giving into temptation. Not yet…he wouldn't do that. As long as his kept his hand under control everything would be fine, if he just stopped them going too far he didn't need to worry. But really…his hands were not the _**only**_ thing he needed to keep under control…

"By the way, Lyle…" He spoke up, finally remembering that he was supposed to ask him about something that took place earlier that day.

"Huh? What is it?"

"What's a 'uke'?"


	11. The Sleep Chapter

Could that clock be _any _slower? If it was a weekday he wouldn't have been so eager to leave, but no…it was a goddamn Saturday and his last class to boot! He was getting himself mocked, because there was no way someone somewhere wasn't laughing at him basically being tortured. Racking his fingers through his hair, he curse to himself; who the _hell _decided school should be attended on a weekend? Granted if was only for half a day, but serious…why taunt people like that? Education was an important thing, but even more important was the fact that he needed a _**GODDAMN BREAK**_! He had limit, and when that limit was reached it was best for everyone if they just stayed away. He was not the some stupid train that would chug its way through anything by going 'I think I can', no, he was Hallelujah Haptism and he was about five second from saying 'fuck it' and leaving.

Looking over at his brother who was busy concentrating on taking notes, he wondered just how he did it. How could stand being in such a place on a Saturday? Wouldn't he much rather be snuggled up close to his boyfriend? Wouldn't he rather be resting in his boyfriends lap, the two them so completely blind to the point of it almost being laughably stupid? Okay…that seemed a little harsh, and it was probably due to his irritation about how slow things were going. But really…he wasn't the patient kind of person, so some kind of award needed to be given to him since it was the longest he'd ever waited for anything. The 'elder' Haptism could've taken what he wanted, but it was because he actually _did_ possess a conscience (which would probably surprise a lot of people) that he hadn't.

His brother was an oblivious idiot, there was no denying that, but he couldn't very well take advantage of that idiocy. If he ever did it would lead him to a place he didn't deserve to go, the line between insanity and saneness fading away like it never existed in the first place. In truth his brother was the only family he could turn to, because his mother was about two steps from going off the deep end. As much as he hated to admit it, that horrible time had come. Their home was no longer safe, and it was one of those time where getting upset over his brother not noticing a damn thing was acceptable.

The time to leave had come, to move away from the village for their own safety. His brother didn't understand, the hints he gave that maybe looking for an apartment would be in their best interest were frequent. But he never caught on! Hallelujah knew that leaving the 'nest' was an unnerving thing, but when there was another reason other then 'I need to grow up' it meant something needed to be done fast. Home was…hell, could he even call such a place home anymore? Yes, it was the place he was raised, but his current vision was so diluted with things that no one should go through that he didn't know anymore.

He wanted to curse his father's strong genes, the only real resemblance to their mother being their one smoky colored eye. It was almost like looking at a walking photograph with him and his brother, and in all honesty from afar their mother looked NOTHING like them. For starters the woman who had raised them was blond, and it was rather common for people on the street to confuse her for their babysitter then mother. Her skin was fair opposed to the tan he and his brother held to theirs, which was just another thing their father had passed on to them.

But if only he hadn't…if only their damn genes had taken an equal amount from both parents, if they had the two of them wouldn't be in the situation that was causing him so much pain. Hallelujah didn't _want_ to leave her, in fear that she would fall further into the depression she was in, leading to something no one wanted. To know he would be responsible for the death of his mother hung on him heavily with such a decision, it just being one of the many negative aspects of it. He'd never forgive himself…to know that he could've so easily stopped a tragedy from occurring.

On the other hand…the two of them _needed_ to leave. The touching, the looks, the constant reminder of just how much they reminded her of their father…it was too much. He was not that man…neither was brother. As much as the second oldest wanted to tell her to forget about the deceased man, he was not going to be cruel. Yes, she had not moved on from something that happened years ago, but who was he to tell her to? He might've been her son but he had no say in what she could or could not do, especially if the situation had anything to do with their father. She loved that man…and if there was a word stronger then that he would've gladly used it. 'Devoted without question' was probably a better way of putting it, though it was still too soft to describe her. Everything his mother did was for him, and she even _admitted_ this fact once.

Looking back, he almost wanted to ask if she was taking care of them because she genuinely loved the two of them, or if it was just another way to please their father. If it was all just a fraud, her just showing off for the man she'd fallen so hard for, then the 'elder' Haptism really couldn't call her a mother. The woman was driven by an emotion he found ridiculous, an obsession that lead one to think in a way no normal person should. But…that very same emotion had taken him over, and it was only a matter of time before he too _completely_ fell to its will. The second youngest was at its mercy, but he still had the willpower to deny it. He wasn't like the Dylandy twins, who had completely fallen head over heels for the youngest amongst the six of them. That was their strange example of 'love', though it seemed to form more out of necessity then attraction.

Their relationship was probably the only one that sat well with him; the attraction came a little later after they had met (at least on Setsuna's side), the first and foremost emotion probably felt was need. To say that the two hadn't changed because of the younger male's arrival would be a blind observation, so it would be much easier to just say the three were supposed to be together. But what about everyone else? Were people who did not fall in love out of true necessity just fooling themselves? He knew what it felt like to be in love, but did it mean he _really_ needed to act upon those impulses of his? He really couldn't say…For age fifteen on he'd tried to figure out why people fell in love, and just why _he_ had done the same.

Was it just because Tieria was so much fun to tease? Or was there a deeper, a more profound reason for his attraction? Whatever it was he wanted to know, because just saying 'I like you' didn't seem right. Hallelujah wasn't even sure what he'd say to the other when the time was right, or if 'that time' would come at all. If his brother didn't do something, it would only drag this little game of 'who's going to move first?' out more then it should. Unless he somehow managed to back the second youngest into a corner, there was no way Tieria would even listen to the confession he so desperately needed to make. If anything it would probably just piss him off, making him say something rather harsh even by his standards.

It was the price he paid for playing around too much, the person he teased on a regular basis never taking him seriously. Even if that was, he wouldn't regret it since it was who he was and that was something he wasn't changing for the world.

Three…two…one…and it was OVER! After waiting so long, listening to his teacher lecture them about the proper way to clean one's camera (he already knew this!), it was time to bolt for the door. Photography was an entertaining class, one he valued more then others…but today was Saturday and he needed to leave. If it was a weekday he'd probably be focused, taking in everything that was told to him so he would be able to achieve the perfect picture. He knew why he had signed up for the class, to basically preserve that one second of time that couldn't be gotten back, but…he wasn't sure just why Allelujah had sighed up a long with him.

To be fair it was his minor, his major being the zoology because he wanted to know about all the critters in the world and then go off for another four years to figure out how to save them. He almost wanted to laugh when his brother told him that he was going to become a vet, but when he heard how serious in his voice the second youngest kept it to himself. Another four years of collage? How could anyone take that? It was Allelujah after all, and being the goody-goody that he was of course he'd try to save the world one animal at a time. Maybe that was a bit harsh too…he needed to leave.

The two of them had completely different views on photography, his brother thinking it was a fun 'hobby' while he took it as the art form that it was. The 'elder' Haptism never wasted film, always taking shots of thing that many would find 'ordinary' or 'unremarkable'. His favorite subjects were people, because it was truly amazing just what one could capture by just walking through the street. The second youngest did have one rule however; unless he was taking a group photo of his friends that he himself set up, he _**did not**_ allow posing. It seemed incredibly fake, and he wasn't going to take a shot of something anyone with a disposable camera could. He wanted to show the world for what it was, something one couldn't put together with pictures of people doing V-signs.

It did irritate him slightly to know that he hadn't taken any picture of the culture festival last week, and it feel rather odd if he went the next year since there wouldn't be anyone worth visiting (maybe that new girl…but just _maybe_). Running around the school did bring back memories however, memories of a time that was so close to their school days in the village. High school was alright for him, and if some wanted to call him a slacker they could. He was much like Lockon and Lyle, always opting to cram days before a major test to pass with flying colors. It had always been like that even while in the village, and the fact that they had made it this far said something, right?

With cramming came something else…tying and pinning their hair back. It was sometimes a real pain having mid-length hair, and also given how he wore his hair normally it was necessary to pin it back if he didn't want to be half blind while trying to fit all of that information into his head. The Dylandy twins just wore theirs back in a ponytail, which was much more common to see outside of their cramming group then him with at least ten bobby pins in his. The 'elder' Haptism didn't like changing his hairstyle for some reason, even though if he did it would be so much easier to tell him and his brother a part. But yet he never tried or had ever asked his brother to, the two just opting to wearing the same one they had throughout their childhood.

It was never a real problem for the two of them to be mistaken for the other, but there were times…and those were very fun times. It so easy for him to slide his bang over to the other side, speaking in the non-cynical, optimistic voice Allelujah always did, and there! He was his brother! Of course he used it against the second youngest on a few occasions, earning him the same affections his brother always did. The amazement of just how differently the two were treated by him always got to him, and to experience it first hand almost made it seem unfair.

He wasn't going to complain about it, but he could very well brood over it for as long as he wanted to. The second oldest was completely aware of why he was treated the way he was by Tieria, though he did think it was slightly excessive. Sure he could yell at him when he did stupid things, but he didn't think the other should act like he was a _complete_ annoyance…he did have redeeming qualities! The two of them had never actually done anything alone, it was always with someone around so the two of them had never gotten to know one another. He only knew Tieria as the quick-to-snap kid that didn't like going home, and Tieria only knew him as the irksome bastard that looked like Allelujah. That didn't seem right, did it?

So he decided to do something about it, and if he got himself rejected then he'd just try harder. It was a Saturday, meaning the remainder of the day was open for just about anything. The second oldest had planned on just sleeping the day away, but he had come up with a better idea…He'd postpone his nap until later, instead asking the second youngest to go out with him. Obviously he'd make it clear that it wasn't a date, just an outing between two people that knew nothing about one another and yet had known the other for years. Just where they would go he hadn't thought about, but it would come to him in time.

The two of them walked to the bus stop, more hurried then anything; since it was Saturday everyone was in a hurry to leave, and because of this he and his brother would always miss the first bus home. No matter how hard they ran, how many people they passed, it did them no good. The Dylandy twins were lucky…they actually lived in the southern town, so therefore they didn't have any reason to take the bus. He did, however, over hear a conversation with the second youngest and his brother, the two talking about how Lockon would wait at the bus stop for Setsuna and then the two would…well, 'go off'. He didn't know what the hell that meant, and if anything it sounded like something rather risqué. So…maybe the two of them actually had done it.

He wasn't actually interested if the two of them were or weren't, he just like picking with them from time to time. Hallelujah wasn't even sure if sex was up on his priority list, because there were so many other things on said list that it just didn't seem important…but he did want to at least lose his virginity by his early twenties. God, being in bed with someone must have felt nice, and it was probably the only real reason he could ever be jealous of the Dylandy twins or brother. The three of them had someone they could hold at night, someone who was _willing_ to be close to them because, hell, they wanted to. If it wasn't for his mother's allergies, he too would've had something to hold on to.

His cat was still very much his 'go-to-guy' (if it was a guy), and he still talked to it as if it actually understood what he was saying. The two of them had fallen asleep in the forest on quite a few occasions, the small bumble curled up on his lap while he rested against a tree. It wasn't like there was something in the forest he needed to worry about, so there wasn't anything wrong with him taking a nap or two. His surroundings were peaceful, and since he was both born and raised in the village he was treated to such peace everyday. But wouldn't it be taken away the moment he left? His village…the place he held such a connection would no longer be his home if he and his brother move away.

"Dammit, we really, really, should've skipped…" Hallelujah said, arms crossed and feeling completely pissed off as they stood at the bus stop.

"I know what you mean, but Setsuna-chan gave me the 'if I go you go' speech." Lockon said as he stood next to him, arms crossed in the same fashion but looking less irritated. They had met up with the Dylandy twins at the bus stop, because the four of them did not attend the same collage. As much as it hurt, the truth of the matter was that all six of them probably wouldn't be 'together forever'. Unless Fate was really working on their side, they would drift apart and go on with their lives.

They might move away, probably to some other region, and would keep in touch for maybe a year or two until all contact would stop. Their friendship would be nothing more then a memory, the six of them looking back on it from time to time but never deciding to actually meet up. It was a shame really, to know the bonds made over years could be so easily broken. Maybe that was his cynicism talking whenever he thought about it, but even for him that sounded too cruel. At times even he became fed up with the way he thought, thinking that sometimes he went _a little_ far in regards to certain situations.

"By the way, are you and your chibi wife doing anything this afternoon?" He asked, directed his attention to the person in question. He saw the oldest looked over at Lyle, who told him something along the lines of 'the fall anime was starting today', to which his brother gave an 'oh right!' He'd almost forgotten…Setsuna was an otaku.

"We'll probably be watching anime with Setsuna-chan, why?" He said, sounding genuinely interested in why he was asked such a question. Hallelujah just shrugged a little, saying that he just wanted to know. But there was an actual reason for him asking…he didn't want anyone coming over to interrupt him. He not only wanted to spend the entire afternoon with the second youngest but actually wanted to have fun, and meeting people he knew on the streets would throw everything off.

He wanted _all _of Tieria's attention, and maybe that sounded a little selfish on his part. He didn't need to worry about his brother interfering either since he had to work right after school, meaning he probably would be back home until much later. It wasn't a date…that was what he needed to tell himself over and over again; of course he'd feel guilty about taking the second youngest on his first date, him probably wanted that from Allelujah. So therefore…it wasn't a date.

Once the bus finally came, it became slightly awkward knowing that he'd be the only one getting off in the village. Everyone was heading off to the northern town, so it was clear that particular area was off limits. He didn't really want to go back to the southern town since it would only remind him of the hell he'd gone through that day. So just what were they going to do? Slumping down into one of the seats, he began to think; staying home would completely defeat the whole 'going out' plan, so maybe he'd actually have to suck it up and go back to the southern town. He hated accepting things he didn't like…

The 'elder' Haptism tried engaging himself in the conversations going on around him, just to make sure no one thought he was acting a bit off. But he couldn't seem to since he became lost in thought about just what was supposed to take place that afternoon. He really shouldn't have gotten his hopes up too far, since it _was_ Tieria he was going to ask. Rejection was probably in his future, and if anything else pain probably came along with it. The second youngest could hit hard, much harder then he had when younger and most of that fury was always taken out on him. The number of brawls the two of them usually got themselves into had gone down quite a bit, and he wasn't sure if that was due to the second youngest growing up or because of whatever the hell went on in that house of his.

Speaking of his house, given the lateness everyone getting on the bus the second youngest was probably home already. He did have a key to their house, because it only seemed right given of often he came over. But of course he still needed to change, and he didn't own any clothes at their place. Great…if he went over there was more of a chance of meeting that Ribbons bastard again, and he wasn't sure if he could control himself if he met him a second time. Arrogant ass…just why did he come to town? Okay fine, so Tieria's grandparents died three years ago (and strangely he didn't seem to mourn at all) so that did open up the place for more people. But why his cousin? Better yet, why did he act like he was running the place? Wasn't Tieria supposed to be the next head?

It was confusing to say the least, but it was something he probably wouldn't bring up at all. He wasn't stupid…home life was never to be brought up anytime. Unless the person in question was the first to say something, it was an off limits topic. One would guess and ponder all they wanted, but there were no exceptions to this rule. It was really just out of respect for the other person, because there was no telling what went on behind closed doors. He didn't want to tell anyone about his alcoholic mother who would practically feel him and his brother up, so why should he pry into other's lives? He was curious by nature, and he would ask the occasional question but he never outright said 'what's going on at home?'

Once the bus finally reached the village, he said his goodbyes and left the group. It was going to be just the two of them…no one else. Walking away from the stop he could hear small steps following him, and he didn't have the turn around because the warmth rubbing against his leg said it all. The small feline always waited for him if he needed to attended school on a Saturday, usually settling to perch itself on top of the enclosed bus stop then hop down upon his arrival. He allowed it to follow him anywhere it wanted except home, and after so long it recognized it, always running away when they were a certain distance from it. And who said cats weren't smart?

The two of them walked to the slightly younger male's place, wondering slightly if the fully grown cat would become defensive like he previously had. Neko did not like going over there as much as he use to, and the 'elder' Haptism had to wonder if he felt the same way he did. And he was right…as soon as they reached the large house he began to hiss, Hallelujah having to tell him that there was nothing to get upset about. He never spoke to the cat in 'baby-speak' because he wasn't fifty and lonely, so there really wasn't any need for it. He wasn't his child…he was his pet who also served as a venting mechanism. The second oldest still told him everything, because he couldn't talk back and wouldn't judge him. And hell, it was cheaper then a therapist.

Bypassing the front door he walked to the back of the house, knowing that it was where Tieria's room was located. The garden hadn't changed at all, a few things looking as if they were about to change with the season. It was official fall and for some strange reason the weather always wanted to rebel against it; the week during and after the announcement of fall the temperature would spike, making it almost unbearable hot. But after those two weeks everything would cool down, setting everything up for the snow that was sure to fall sometime within the next month or two. The weather was fickle to say the least, though he himself didn't mind it at all.

He knocked against the door, almost expect the other to instinctively know that he was near and fling it open. However that was not the case, since there were sounds of some kind of rustling coming from the other side. Waiting a little the door was slid open and then quickly closed, the second youngest leaning against it. He looked like he was in a hurry of some kind, and given the disheveled look of his clothes he could definitely tell that he had no intentions of staying in such a place for too long.

"Why are you here?" Tieria asked as he began re-buttoning his cardigan, all of his attention on it.

"Look, I'll make this quick…" He started, fixing the bottom button which made the other look at him, "I'm bored, everyone else is busy, and you're the only person available so-"

"Sure, fine, let's just go."

Wait, what? That seemed a bit too fast for his liking, as if he just wanted an excuse to leave. Before he could say anything his wrist was taken by the second youngest, his body getting itself dragged away from the door and through the garden. What was his hurry? They completely left his property, Tieria ignoring all the 'would you stop for a second!' that were being barked at him. Well…he couldn't really complain, could his? The younger male had agree (to a certain degree) to have an outing with him, so he should enjoy himself. But as they began to pass the bus stop, the other not even glancing over at it, he began to think otherwise…

"Wait a minute, you completely passed the-"

"Northern or southern…?"

"Southern, but we're not really going to- dammit, that hurt!" He yelled as his arm was yanked as the two of them took a sharp turn. What the hell was wrong with him? They weren't really going to walk (or run) to the town, were they…? Granted the walk wasn't all that bad (especially if one took the short cut), but it's the fact Tieria had opted to take the longer route did make him want to question his actions. He was acting off today, and when the second youngest acted off it was a bad sign. If he didn't know any better Hallelujah would've guessed that the two of them were running away…but why would that be?

After about thirty minutes they finally reached the town, the two of them having to rest since they hadn't really stopped at all. Leaning against a building he panted loudly, wanting to strangle the second youngest for making him go through that. He was an athletic person, don't get him wrong, but to continually run for thirty whole minutes was too much. Twenty minutes was fine, it was when those damn ten extra minutes were added that he had a problem. In high school he could've so easily been on the track team, and he was constantly asked by the members to sign up.

What was the big deal about receiving the title of 'fastest in the class'? That didn't mean he should be scouted for anything, and sure, his time did beat the top runner in the school's…but he wasn't a team person. Much like the married Dylandy, he did not like following some kind of code that basically restricted one's freedom. The track team had one too many rules, and the worst was the 'waking up at the crack of dawn to practice' one. He was not a morning person as is, but then they'd make him wake up a few minutes before that? There was no way…

"You're…out of shape." Tieria panted out, looking equally exhausted.

"Shut up…you damn hypocrite." He managed to get out, his breathing slowly getting under control as he slid down to the ground, "The hell were you running from?"

He didn't say anything, only allowing the sound of their breathless puffs fill the air. That meant he needed to shut up and stop questioning, since it was now clear that the problem was linked to his home life. Deciding he wanted to drop the issue and move, he picked himself up from off of the ground. Putting a hand on Tieria's back, he pushed him in a random direction. When he was given the question 'where were they going?' he answered truthfully…he didn't know. To wander randomly seemed like the only choice the two of them had, but it didn't seem like a bad one. Not having a set plan allowed for the option of browsing from store to store, not really buying anything but just looking. That wasn't loitering since they did have an aim.

And the two of them wandered around for the next _five hours_. It might've sounded like a lot, but when one's attention was directed every which way it really did fly by. The second youngest was a surprisingly busy person, always yanking him in the direction of some kind of store that seemed to catch his eye. He didn't mind spending money people, but some of things the somewhat younger male wanted to buy were out of the question. It was strange though…he didn't seem as hostile as he usually did, but that might've been do to the older male's lack of teasing. Though…it didn't really seem like the issue, so that did pose the question: did Tieria just act defensive to others when Allelujah was around as a form to try and prove something?

That was a very, very interesting find. There had to be a reason for this action, and the only though that popped into his mind was so insane that it just couldn't be true. Maybe…just maybe…the second youngest acted the way he did to try to rid his brother of the idea that there was someone else he loved. What warped thinking, but it really did fit into Tieria's warped little personality. The 'elder' Haptism knew the other wasn't the tough-as-nails, no nonsense person he put himself out to be, because if he really was he'd have a completely different set of friends. All of the people close to him had some sort of quirk that would normally drive the person the second youngest was trying to put out crazy.

Being an otaku, liking their wife's neck a little _too_ much, trying to be clingier then their brother, having something that could easily be considered an obsession with animal, all of this would drive a normal person to slam their head against a brick wall. However, it was because Tieria too was not a 'normal' person that he surrounded himself with people that were just as odd as he was. Not that it was a bad thing, if anything it just made life more fun. Yes, Hallelujah still found actual enjoyment in the world.

After walking around for so long of course the two of them would begin to have hunger pain, which was why they were rather lucky there was a noodle stand near by. Ramen was delicious, ramen came in a variety of flavors, and above all else ramen was cheap. So the two of them took a seat and ordered their usual flavor, the very same one they ordered every Friday when the six of them hung out. Obviously this was not the same stand, but the noodles were probably the same.

"So…" Tieria started, "Why did you ask me out?"

"I already told you…you were the only person available." He said, tapping his fingers against the counter in a rather impatient fashion.

"Well you were made it seem like you had other reasons-"

"Other reasons like what?"

The second youngest really shouldn't have said that…He had just caused Hallelujah mind to go into 'playful' mode, which he hadn't wanted it to at all while out. Looking over at the now confused looking male, he tried hard not to give off some kind of sarcastic look as he asked again. He didn't receive an answer like last time, only a look that told him the other was thinking. As priceless as the moment seemed, it needed to be stopped…now. It would've been nice to know what he was going to say, but just so it didn't escalate into something he'd regret the oldest of the two said a small 'never mind' and turned his attention to the people preparing their ramen.

There was also another reason he needed to turn away; he found it hard to look at the other whenever he had that 'I don't know' look on his face, because it really it was so close to make his cheeks flush. Hallelujah was not the blushing type, and to have someone actually make him do something like that really did mean something. He really did hate it though…besides Lyle did enough of that for everyone. God, he'd never seen someone blush that much while around one person, and given the fact that said person was already _in love_ with him…there just didn't seem to be any need for it. Maybe he was still insecure around Setsuna for some reason, but really…they'd know each other for six years so there really shouldn't have been too much embarrassment on his part.

Once their order finally arrived the two of them split their chopsticks, also adding the usual _itadakimasu _since it was only right. Ramen was always on his list on things to eat, but not on a daily basis. Both he and brother knew how to cook fairly well, so they didn't have to resort to the same tactics the Dylandy twins did once they moved away. It must've been a god-send to have Setsuna move in, because no matter how much they loved ramen that taste really did begin to dull the palate.

"You're a jerk."

Ouch, where did that come from?

"That's the other reason. You're usually a jerk, so I thought you just wanted to pick with me." He added, not really paying him any mind.

"I do have a heart you know…" Hallelujah muttered, actually taking some offensive to what the second youngest had said.

"Really now…is it two inches too small-"

"Okay, _**seriously**_, is there a reason you're being extra bitchy today? I'm trying _really_ hard here to do something nice, and it's not like I'm holding you against your will so you _can_ go if you want to!" He shouted, getting a little more then fed up with the insults. Fine, maybe he did deserve them, but not when he was actually putting in some kind of effort to be a 'nice' person.

Tieria looked at him again, this time with an expression of surprise which didn't sit well with the 'elder' Haptism. Great, just great, he was probably thinking 'Hallelujah being nice? Ha! What a joke!' and things of that sort. Dammit, this was worse then getting rejected! But it did feel like he was overacting for some reason, like his emotions had gotten the better of him.

Sighing a little, he calmed himself down enough to say another small 'never mind' before going back to his ramen. Silence was all that was between the two of them as time when on, and he didn't mind it a bit. As long as he wasn't getting offended he didn't care if the other male was enjoying himself, and the longer he stayed the more he wished he'd stayed home to sleep. Once the ramen was completely gone he paid for the two of them and they left, the silence still weighting heavily on the two males. It wasn't like him to make the second youngest quiet, in the past forcing him to shout and chase him. But this…this was a change he didn't like, and the situation probably wouldn't get any better unless he was the one to say something.

Of course this was his fault; he was the one that invited him out because his delusional mind thought it'd be a 'nice' thing to try and get to know the other. Was something wrong with him today? Was the lack of sleep getting to him? Today was a crappy day, one that he didn't feel like reliving anytime soon. Home was where he needed to be, home was where his bed was, and even though home had a few bad qualities about to it at least he had a place to sleep.

"Um…" He heard the small voice from behind him mutter, "Are you upset…?"

"Do I look like it?" Hallelujah said, not even bothering to turn around or stop. Hell, he didn't even stop when he felt the tugging of the back of his shirt. Dammit, what did he want?

"Well you sound pissed off…I didn't mean to do that."

Was that an apology? That…was a first. Throughout the years of chasing, teasing, and various pranks, never once had either of them apologized for anything. If one pissed the other off it was considered a victory, so there really wasn't any place for such a thing. So…why was this time different? Sure, the 'elder' Haptism was actually hurt, but wasn't that what they were trying to do? Wasn't actual hurt the objective? No, it really wasn't…He finally decided to stop, but did not turn around since there wasn't anything he really needed to say.

That oh-so familiar silence completely took over the atmosphere again, it prolonging whatever needed to be done to get things in some kind of positive direction. He heard the second youngest begin to speak, and as much as he wanted to tune him out…he couldn't. It only seemed right to at least do that much, and once the other was done he was take the bus home and sleep off such a horrible day. Tieria said that he was just having a few issues at home, and that he didn't mean to be rude by taking his frustrations out of him. He couldn't help but groan…he was so sentimental with all 'forgive me's' he was giving him. Turning around he found the younger male's head down a little, eyes to the side which clearly showed his shame.

Yikes, he'd never seen him like that, and it did give him a slightly terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. What he had said and the actions performed suggested that he was indeed genuinely ashamed of saying what he had, though of course there was another reason he was going to be so quick to forgive Tieria. Goddamn his emotions. Reaching over he patted him on the head, saying that it was fine since he probably just being just overacting. Well he really was!

The second youngest looked up at him for a few second, swatting his hand away once the realization that he was being touched by someone he wasn't 'supposed' to like slowly set in. He huffed a little, crossing his arms and saying that he didn't have the right to touch him. Really now…so that meant only one thing…

"I bet you'd let my brother touch you _anyway you'd like_…"

Back to basics!

"PERVERT!"

The two of them took off down the street, initiating the usual 'chase' that would probably last at least ten minutes since they were outside. It made him feel much better about the day, but he did have to wonder just what was going on in that house of his. Allelujah was the only one he had ever actually been in the younger male's house, though it was just barely inside him room. Why was it that _no one_ was allowed inside? Why didn't his parents want any outside influences to be around the younger male? It was almost like they were trying to brainwash him…No, that couldn't have been the case.

Five blocked down the street he came to a screeching halt, grabbing Tieria as he slammed into him and slinging the two of them into a nearby alleyway. Before the other could say anything, the 'elder' Haptism clapped his hand over his mouth which only made him struggle. Why didn't he really pay attention to his surroundings? When the thought of 'hay, this place looks familiar' entered his head, he should've turned somewhere. But it was too late…Peeking over the side of the opening, his worst fears were about to come true. They were dangerously close to the Dylandy's apartment complex, and what only made the situation worse was that both Lockon _and_ Setsuna seemed to be going in…but had stopped.

The youngest was looking around as if he noticed something, and it really didn't take a genius to know that he had probably witness a glimpse of the two of them running down the street like idiot. He couldn't hear what the oldest was saying, but it obviously had something to with his odd behavior. They were going to get busted…he knew it. It would be over they had been, because that meant explaining just why he was out with the second youngest…and why they were alone. It wasn't a date! But because the oldest was over there and he _knew_ about his feelings for Tieria, it could turn ugly fairly quickly. Oh no, he wasn't going to rat him out, just pick with him until he admitted something. Just like the second oldest usually did to him.

Karma really was a bitch, wasn't it? However, he would receive his punishment later since the two of them disappearing inside the apartment complex, making him let out a loud sigh. Letting the second youngest go he was automatically kicked in the shin, and since the 'elder' Haptism hadn't been clear on the reason for their odd position of course he'd be kicked.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Tieria yelled, pushing him away and leaving the alley.

"Well it was that or let Lockon and Setsuna find out, so which would you rather prefer?" He said as he followed, limping a little as he did so.

"…Fine, you're right…but really, it wasn't like they were really going to notice-"

"Oi you two!"

Oh no…slowly turning around and found the Lockon waving at the two of them from the entrance way of the complex, his wife peeking out from behind him. So Karma just decided to delay his punishment for what, like, five seconds? That was just cruel and unusual…

* * *

He knew anime was a vast medium, one that allowed freedom to express anything anyone wanted…but what the hell had he just watched? It was his own fault really…Setsuna usually did some kind of research when it came anything new coming on, be it the spring, summer, fall or winter lineup. But this was the first time he'd actually hadn't taken his husband's laptop and investigated everything that was coming on, which should've told him something. Little surprises here and there were fine, sometimes he didn't dive so deeply into what he was about to watch which made things somewhat exciting. He'd actually done something similar to that a year or two ago, and was pleasantly surprised that the he liked a majority of what he saw.

He wasn't generally picky about what he watched, but the youngest did gravitate towards mech and action anime more. It was slightly more appealing then others, having a huge mechanical device defending the world against evil. It probably had something to do with the very first anime shown to him, to which he needed to thank Lockon at some point. But just because he liked watching it practically everyday, could recite an entire beginning or ending if asked to, would sometimes draw out his own manga, and was currently saving up to by his own model kit did NOT mean he was an otaku. He _liked_ anime and manga, but did not obsess over it…so he wasn't sure why everything one else thought he did.

His husband said it was cute, the way he would so intently watch whatever was on the screen with Zen-like concentration. Of course he did, because he didn't want to miss a thing since it meant backtracking and hoping for repeats. Some shows were just like that, and sometimes those were the ones worth watching. Setsuna did like the ones that had a slower pace, which just showed the daily lives of the characters and didn't rely on magic or outlandish gimmicks to get the plot going. It was a nice change from the action he was use to seeing, though that did not mean he'd give one up for the other.

The youngest was just a fan, while on the other hand Christina was indeed an otaku. She said she loved romantic comedies that walked the fine line between original and stereotypical. That was understandable, but when she told him that her other 'all time favorite' genre was yaoi…the thought that she only hung around him so much was because he himself as married to a male. He was half right. The first year girl had freely admitted that she liked the idea that he was married, but she also thought that he was a nice person and seeing that she didn't have many friends…well it just went from there. So the youngest had officially obtained his first 'fangirl', a term he never thought would ever relate to him in the slightest.

Maybe that's why the two of them got along so well…they were two different levels of fan, but fans none the less. Their tastes sometimes differed, but most of the time they liked pretty much the same thing. They talk about it on the roof on quite a few occasions, and given that the new line up was starting of course they'd have a lot more to talk about. However…she had told him that there was supposed to be a yaoi anime somewhere within the mix, so that meant he'd have to change the channel if he even saw the slightest hint of it.

Yaoi was…something he tried to avoid. It wasn't because he didn't like it or anything, he just thought that since he couldn't look at his own husband without a shirt, why should he look at a complete strangers bare chest? Speaking of his husband…why did he feel it necessary to ask Lyle what the hell a uke was? It only prompted his husband to constantly ask him if there were more terms, since if there was one for the 'bottom' there had to be one for the 'top'. The youngest obviously knew what _all _the terms were, and the only reason the other Dylandy did was because he happened to be in the bookstore with him that day a few months ago.

That was an interesting outing to say the least, and of course he couldn't wipe it from the depths of his memories no matter how hard he tried. It was a Thursday which meant Lockon had to work, and it also meant he was going to spend most of that afternoon with his twin. He'd already come to terms with the fact that he missed his husband whenever he wasn't around, and he found that he would sulk whenever he left. Lyle called him a 'love sick puppy' because of this, and he really couldn't say anything to prove him wrong. There were things about himself, things others always pointed out first, that he just couldn't deny.

The way he never seemed to have enough energy whenever the other wasn't around, how he caught himself staring out of the window at school (still taking notes as well), the relief he felt once the two of them were reunited, all of this told him that he unquestionably had a connection to his husband that was not just physical. The youngest liked the kisses and the nips, but it wasn't a good reason for him to stay in a relationship. If the two became bored with the touches, then what? Nothing…the two of them would just be in a binding contract that they no longer wished for. Luckily the bond they had was more then skin deep, though of course Setsuna's fears were still very much present inside of him. Once that leap was taken there was no telling where they would go, the youngest finding out if all those years of his husband saying 'I love you' were really worth anything.

Instead of his usual rest period that evening, him lying against Lyle's lap as his mind basically when into auto-pilot, the older male had somehow persuaded him to leave the apartment complex (which seemed like quite the feat to him). The youngest didn't say a word as they wandered the streets, the empty feeling he usually had lessened but still very much there. It would've been much worse if the other Dylandy had not have been there, which was why he was glad he was had a relationship with two different people. It was the same to a certain extent, and his thoughts about that damn three letter word were the same when it came to Lyle.

As much as his husband probably didn't like the idea, the other did have feelings for him that involved branched off into sexual territory. Why wouldn't it? The three of them had known one another for the same number of years, so of course those feelings would eventually evolve into something deeper…something filled with a desire that was hard to control. He liked them both, but did that mean he was only allowed to sleep with one of them? He couldn't really let both of them do _that _to him, right? Was it alright to sleep with two different people? Setsuna didn't know….he really didn't. It was one of those things that experience would answer for him.

He clung tightly to the other Dylandy's arm tightly, leaning against him as they walked the streets. The youngest felt out of it like he usually did, like he wanted to sleep until his husband returned. There wasn't much he wanted to do, that being a byproduct of his depressed state. He did like spending time alone with Lyle, but when it as on a Tuesday or Thursday his feelings changed slightly. He wasn't _as_ clingy as his brother, though that wasn't to say he just stopped at kissing. Instead of treating his neck like some kind of sugar lick, his hands would roam his body aimlessly. The younger male allowed it, always stopping him whenever he'd go too far and those hands of his would get a little too close to _certain_ areas.

That was another things…he didn't think it completely fair to allow one of the twins to go further then the other. Both of them were given the same restrictions; hands needed to be stopped at the very top of his navel, while lips were only allowed to venture any lower then his collarbone. That wasn't asking too much, right? If he wasn't ready to go _all the way_ but still wanted some kind of pleasure to make him forget about certain thing, why not allow just a little in his life? It was a known fact to himself that other then liking what the two did to him, it also cause his mind to completely forget about whatever was troubling him. That made him slightly anxious…if such little actions would make him forget, what would the really thing do to him?

He perked up ever so slightly when the bookstore came into the view, asking if the two of them could take a quick look (though it was never really quick when it came to him). Of course the older male agreed, seeing that it was probably the first thing Setsuna had said all afternoon. The bookstore was like third haven away from actual home, the others being the apartment complex and the hideaway in the northern town. He felt safe there, even if it was open to the general public. For him books were…just another escape from whatever he had to deal with in the real world, since they were so different from his life. Though…book books didn't seem to work as well as manga did, and he wasn't sure if it had to do with the lack of visualization he himself had to do or because they were more entertaining.

Completely bypassing all the other sections once inside, he instinctively lead himself over to the graphic novel area as the other Dylandy followed behind him. Because of the section was so large people tended to sit on the floor and read, which didn't bother him too much since he was also guilty of doing that. Stepping over a few people he made it way over to the 'new arrival' section, slightly eager to see just what had come out within the last few weeks. Sometimes he purposefully didn't read chapters of a series while they ran in a magazine just so he could wait for the full manga to come out. If the story seemed interesting but he wasn't quite sure how he felt about it, it only made sense to wait and judge it as a whole.

Once he reached his destination, the youngest began looking along the shelves for something to catch his eye. He didn't explore the very top shelves, because…well, he couldn't reach them. Because of this Setsuna's attention snapped towards the other Dylandy, the older male saying that he had found something that looked interesting. Right off the bat the book looked strange…at first glance it looked to be a battle mange, but upon closer inspection the art style made it look like it didn't fit into such a genre. That should've told him something…Flipping it open the very first page was a list a terms, a few of them being American so he understood why a translator's note was necessary.

Something there were cultural differences when it came to manga, or if there were some kind of historical or mythological references that had something to do with the plot they too would be included in the first few pages of the book. Historical stories were sometimes horribly twisted to fit some kind of odd modern setting, be it from women wearing provocative clothing and fighting different students to chibi characters running around committing random acts that were supposed to be funny. It was madness, pure madness, but that did not mean that all of them were mindlessly done.

Looking at the terms he found two words he didn't know at all…seme and uke. He heard Lyle start to read the definition out loud while looking over his shoulder, the youngest following as he read to himself. He blanked out for a few second, not fully grasping the information that had just entered his mind. _The names given to the dominate and submissive partners in a yaoi pairing_. That…couldn't be what those words really meant, right? Flipping through a few pages, he stopped and shoved the book against the older male's chest, a blush obviously forming on his features.

That was too much…far too much for someone like him. His mind couldn't take something like that! But yet here he was: standing in the bookstore, blush on his face, two new words now in his vocabulary, and his husband's twin saying he was going to buy the book. Yes, Lyle had actually purchased the book that day…and before leaving the youngest bought himself a pack of gum, because he really needed to revaluate just how much of a pervert he thought the other way.

Needless to say his rating had jumped quite a bit.

But at that very moment those memories were pushed aside, the events of the last hour replaying themselves in his head. He was sitting on his futon, Lockon next to him, and his brother on the other side, the three of them blankly gazed at the now commercial ridden television. Throughout his years of anime watching blood and violence came with the territory, and he had learned fairly quickly that sometimes studios liked to push the envelope. However…what they had just watched was so very much insane that he finally understood why the program came on in the middle of the night. In truth it started out as one thing, a seemingly normal slice of life anime filled with a cast of characters that were generally likable. _BUT_…that did not last very long.

Complete, (somewhat) unedited violence…there was so much that it completely cancelled out the easy feel given off in the first half of the show. It was just the first two episodes, but he was sure there was something more to it then just random killing or torturing of characters. If anything the youngest thought that there was some kind trick to it all, like something wasn't being said and that things weren't really what they seemed. That interested him. So maybe he would actually add _Higurashi no Naku Koro ni_ as a part of his weekly schedule, though the feeling of being held tightly by both Dylandy twins was probably something he'd have to get use to if he wanted to watch. It was just like Halloween…

But in truth the things that took him completely aback was the setting…it took place in a village.

It was eerily similar to the one he lived in, and that was probably the number one reason the three of them look slightly horrified. Now Setsuna wasn't the kind of person who mixed the real world with the fictional one…but this was one of those time where he couldn't help it…What would've happened if the scenario on screen had taken place? What is someone he knew completely lost it? What if there was some kind of plot going on that he didn't know about? One that involved the killing of someone close to him…This was going to keep him up most of the night, wasn't it?

However the three of them couldn't help but jump when his phone went off, Setsuna having to tell the two of them that they need to let go of him. Once the both of them did, he quickly pick up his cell just as it was about to reach the last ring.

"Did you see that?"

It was Christina. He had given her his number during the culture festival since, well, she had given him hers. The youngest really didn't think much of it, but when she asked him just what he liked to watch on a daily basis he did have to wonder slightly. And he had good reason to…that very night he received a message right before his show was about to start that said 'are you going to watch?' He was slightly astonished when she was rather quick to rely to the 'yes' he massaged her back. Setsuna quickly messaged her back again, telling her that she shouldn't reply to him until the commercial break since he was basically going to ignore his cell (and everything) until that time.

She did listen surprisingly, though it was probably because she too was focused on what was going on. The second the show's eyecatch popped up, he heard the distinctive 'ping' of his cell phone go off again. It was almost crazy how she typed so much and still stayed within the word limit…That particular time she asked if he liked what he saw, adding that 'Feldt says hello' with a small smiley face at the end of the sentence. So she too had a 'viewing' partner…Anime was an entertaining thing to watch, but watching it with other people allowed for more commentary, more opinions, and more random thoughts. The internet could've been replacement for that, but he didn't know those people and he took much more enjoyment in hearing what the people he actually spent time with were thinking.

From that point on Christina messaged him before the show started, during the commercial, and then physically called him once over. It was a little odd, going out of his usual pattern to try something a little new…but he couldn't say he hated it. Even though they had only been doing such a thing for a week, he found it rather easy to tell if Feldt was the one doing the messaging or Christina. They had two very different styles, the semi-silent girl never really saying much while her energetic friend always said almost too much, always adding some kind of emoticon at the end.

"I-I saw…" He said, sounding somewhat shaky with his response.

"I'd have to say it's pretty good for an adaptation-"

"Wait, it's an adaptation? Of what?" Setsuna asked, never once noticing the title while browsing the shelves at the bookstore.

"It was originally a dojin soft sound novel; I bought the first two from Comiket a year ago, and they're pretty fun to play."

Comiket…basically a place where anime lovers, cosplayers, and amateur artists come to just have fun. The thought of going had crossed his mind numerous times, but he for some reason couldn't bring himself to ask his husband to take him. It wasn't the fact that there were over hundred-thousand people there, since he had mostly gotten over his fear of crowds. Maybe it was just too much going on for him; he didn't have a short attention span, but that was the actual problem…If he put too much of his attention into one thing he'd probably miss something else, and Comiket was one of those places where the youngest thought that just blinking would be the worst thing in the world.

That really couldn't be the only thing…because deep down he felt like there was another, more embarrassing reason he didn't allow himself to go. As he pondered that for a few moments, he listened as the younger girl told him about the vast universe that was _Higurashi no Naku Koro ni_. The way she explained the workings of the show didn't spoil him, completely killing the reason Setsuna had for watching it, though it did give some kind of foreshadowing to events that would transpire in the future. His interest only deepened…

But is seemed that the younger girl had talked for too long, her silent friend's voice could suddenly be heard saying that 'it was passed their bedtime'. That was understandable since it was passed one in the morning, so he said his goodbyes before closing his phone. When he felt two arms wrap themselves around his waist, he tense up; the youngest had almost forgotten that both of the Dylandy twins were in the room, and seeing that his mind was directed elsewhere he was going to be in for some kind of embarrassing situation. The two of them _**did not**_ like being ignored by him…so much so that they would do pretty much anything to get his attention back.

It was childish really, how the two of them would constantly want him to notice their actions while at home. Their attention grabbing tactics would only be displayed in the apartment, so when they were around other people the two of them acted as if nothing was wrong. Of course if he was around someone for too long, ignoring them to the point where he almost forgot about them, the Dylandy twins would find same way to win him over without the others taking notice. In truth the two of them only sought all of his attention when they were having a horrible day, and seeing that he had forced them to attend school on Saturday he could see why they were _**extra**_ clingy today…But really, if the youngest had to go they were going too…

The moment he and his husband met at the bus stop, the older male couldn't keep his hands off of him. It started with a hug, one that had the oldest holding him a little bit lower then his waist while he buried his face in his hair. He didn't mind the position, though his husband's hands were a little _too_ low for his liking. But he allowed it since it was clear the other was in some kind of distress, and the glances from other people didn't both him all that much. It was his fault Lockon was behaving that way he was, and if his brother didn't have to rush to get to work he'd probably be doing the same. So he told himself to be a little less harsh with the two of them when they touched him, still making sure they followed the rules. That seemed fair…right?

"It's rather cute watching you act like an otaku with your otaku friends." Lockon said, cheek rubbing against his.

"I'm not an otaku…and would you stop?" He said while sighed a little, the late night finally starting to get to him. He heard the other chuckle a little before his lips met his neck, making his breath hitch a little. He'd already left three marks on him, two on his collarbone and one on the back of his neck, so it seemed a little excessive. But he allowed it, muttering a small 'you're an idiot' before he gently bit down on his bottom lip to keep himself from making any noise.

However, to allow one to do something to him and not the other was out of the question. As soon as he felt Lyle hug him around the waist and nuzzle his cheek against his stomach, Setsuna already knew that all hope for escape was completely gone. He said that the youngest should 'comfort them' since the three of them had seen something quite traumatic. The show wasn't too bad after the fact…but that didn't matter to the two of them since the next thin he knew he was lying against his futon. The twins snuggled closer to him, Setsuna only allowing a small groan to escape his lips. There was only one futons out, so it was enough that the three of them would lie against it comfortably…at least in their current position.

He could hear them speaking sweet words to him, his husband more so then Lyle. The three of them did on occasion stay up into the wee hours of the night…but not today. Today was a school day, and even though he had only gone for half of the day it did not mean his torture was any lighter. The youngest was given a break on the culture festival, one that was so greatly needed with the appearance of his husband and brother. He'd over heard a few of the students saying that the ringleaders had decided to skip the festival, meaning that the sheep would not act in the slightest no matter what they saw. It was relief, but the next week his punishment was delivered much harder…to make up for lost time obviously.

But the worst was that someway or another they had been informed about his love-bites…The discovery was probably made during gym, because he had taken slightly longer then usual to get dressed. It was his mistake…and he was paying for it. Setsuna could hear them like always, making fun of him and now of the unknown person that had given him said marks. That was almost enough to drive him over the edge, making him snap and seek retribution. But he didn't, instead calming himself while reminding that little voice in his head that the sheep did not actually know the true identity of his husband. So…he would deal with it, dealing with it in the best way he knew possible…not doing a thing.

It wasn't until he'd woken up that he realized that he had followed asleep in the first place, the sun hitting him just enough so he knew that it was no longer night. It was hot…too hot for it to be fall and it was something he never grew use to. But he was thankful for the fan that was gently blowing against him (probably set up by his husband), cooling off his heated body so he could feel a little more comfortable while lying against the empty futon. Wait…_empty_? That was…a little unexpected. Of course having Lyle not there was given, since it was still the weekend so he still had to work…but Lockon? Why wasn't he there?

After so many years of having someone slept next to him, having that someone holding him tightly even as he awakened…it was a little awkward waking up and not having that feeling. He might've acted like he didn't like it, but he needed something to hold at night. The place he visited once asleep was never really a retreat of any kind, and it only seemed to spiral further out of control as the years went on. There was something going on in his head, something he was blocking out for some reason (probably to keep himself focused on school work) and it manifested itself while he was slumbering.

The youngest would wake up at least once a month in the middle of the night, feeling as if something was trying to break him from the inside out. He could feel himself shaking, his mind refusing to acknowledge his fear but his body obviously feeling it. He never cried out (or he hoped he didn't) since his husband was never disturbed from his sleep in the slightest, though it never lasted. Setsuna would always shake him, not caring if he was partially or full aware of what was going on around him. He hated waking him, and the younger male hated lying to him when he told the other that he 'couldn't sleep'.

Lockon would always look at him for a moment, mutter something incoherent and pull him into a tight embrace (just like that one night many years ago). It wasn't just an embrace, it was something that calmed his mind down and told it that there was nothing to worry about. But he did need to worry about it…at some point. Once graduation came he had all the time in the world to reflect on what he felt, to look back in amazement at how long he managed to suppress the urge to attack someone. Exploding in school could never happen, because he hated revealing that he was capable of expressing such rage. That wasn't to say that he tried to put himself out there as the kind, sweet person that anybody and everybody could turned to…that would be overly fake since he knew what kind of person he was on the inside.

He was someone who hated being overly emotional in front of people, because it gave them a little insight into the person they didn't need to see. Really it was more…'shouldn't see' then 'didn't need to'. Showing little to no emotions was much easier then putting it all out there, since doing something like that meant being automatically pinned as something that wasn't necessarily true. That was probably another reason he was picked with so often…they didn't know _what_ the hell he was. He was most likely something they didn't understand, an anomaly in their daily lives that made them look as him in spite. The youngest didn't show them a thing, never giving them a chance to since he knew what the concisenesses were.

They did not understand him…so therefore they would search for their answers through shellfish means.

He felt rather groggy from only having slept a few hours, so he just sat up a little and yawned. No matter how he twisted and stretched, he could not for the life of him get his stiff body to rid itself of the annoyingly tried feeling. Groaning a little, he just plopped right back on his futon, knowing that he needed to get up and clean the apartment. After that studying was another one of his top priorities since finals were coming up fairly soon, and it made much more sense to study as the information came then cram. The youngest seriously didn't know how the 'elder' Haptism and both Dylandy twins did it…how was it possible to force that much information into one's head in that short of a time span?

Setsuna was with them most of the time, watching as they took what little notes they had and somehow connected it to the next vaguely written piece of information. Since the youngest was present he was automatically labeled as the 'answer guy', meaning he would be asked something by the others and he would answer it. But there was a catch…each of them were only permitted to ask him five questions in total, and it was in no way a daily thing. The offer lasted however long the three of them were studying, so if they wasted _all_ of their questions on the first day he wasn't allowed to help them. They knew the rule…which was why they always followed it.

He didn't know why he could understand information that wasn't even part of his curriculum, and he hated being called a genius because of it. It was a nice feeling being needed by the three of them, but if they studied more they probably wouldn't need him at all…which wasn't a bad thing. He'd sometimes do a few last minutes checks on his own work, the three joking that he had 'finally come over to their side' That wasn't the case, given that he actually _knew_ what he was looking at.

They youngest would always rank somewhere within the top five in his class, which just gave him more reason for the ringleaders and their sheep to pick with him. But strangely they never really used that ammo against him, the youngest sometimes overhearing a conversation about it but nothing that ridiculed him. Maybe they knew that something like that wouldn't really get to him…

For having only slept Saturday night away he felt amazing hungry, and since he didn't seem to have the energy to even get out of bed it only made him feel worse. Rolling over on his stomach he could see the kitchen, see that it wasn't all that far away from him since the apartment wasn't that big. Maybe if he crawled over he'd be able to get to the refrigerator…but upon trying to move his body refused to listen to him. This was awful, absolutely awful. He must've been in some kind of deep sleep because this was just damn ridiculous. Setsuna mind must've been suffering from exhaustion was well, because the very first thing that popped into his head was _'maybe my husband could make me someone once he came home'_…yeah, that really sounded like his mind wasn't functioning properly.

Granted the older male could cook, but risking getting kicked out by Sumeragi-san because the oldest burned the apartment down wouldn't really be a desired outcome for anyone. But he was hungry, he was tired, and it didn't make any sense since he didn't usually get like this after waking up. The room felt so empty, the only thing moving being the fish the oldest had won for him. Lockon had purchased a nice size bowl for it, the two of them deciding to place it in the corner near the balcony door. Of course they had one, since they needed to air out their futons somehow.

It was a nice way to get a little fresh air without actually having to leave the complex, though the sliding glass door did cause a few problems. For one it did heat the room up a little more, which was why the fan they used was so crucial during summer days. The opposite could be said for the wintertime, the room getting much cooler then it was supposed to…which was why they owned a kotatsu. It really could be used as a normal table without the futon and extra top on it, which was why they never bothered buying another table since there was no need for it.

They did have curtains they pull back and forth to their liking, so that did help with the 'hot cold' issue slightly. It was plain really…nothing really special about the crimson fabric that draped themselves over the door, but then again the apartment itself was rather plain. It was bare, seemingly holding no life even though he was there as well as his small pet. Since he was just lying there, tying to will his body to move, he could feel the dullness of it all hitting him. Was this…what it was like before he moved in? Did his husband feel as empty as the room felt when he wasn't around? That was a nasty feeling…one he knew all too well.

In truth after he had confessed to Lockon on Christmas those many years ago, his room no longer felt…_right_. It was already bare, having inside but the necessities, but after the youngest showed that he was actually capable of being attracted to another person he practically hated his room. The area made him feel sick, like he was drowning in some kind of pit of despair. It made him feel like he use to, that apathetic nature that made him not care about anyone around him. He wasn't like that anymore…but yet that god-awful room was starting to turn him. If the younger male really wanted to name it something, to tag the feeling that plagued him each time he entered…he'd call it loneliness.

He watched the fish swim in its water bound home, never actually naming it anything. That was people did with pets, right? Even if wasn't something soft that he could touch, it deserved a name too. He'd taken it up with his husband once he arrived home…but where the hell was he? The older male usually slept in when it came to weekends, and not seeing him in the apartment was strange. Maybe he'd actually gone grocery shopping, since they were in need of that and even though the other didn't know how to cook well he knew how to shop. It was…and _odd_ trait to say the least, the older male knowing what went with what but lacked the actual ability to make it possible.

Hell, it was more funny then odd. Both he and his brother had the same problem, and even if it had gotten better over the years they were still mediocre. His attention was quickly pulled away from the fish bowl when the sound of the door giving off a 'click' completely grabbed him, a slightly eager feeling starting to form inside of him. In walked his husband, clothes looking somewhat disheveled as he carrying a single bag that couldn't have been the groceries. That disturbed him slightly…not the small bag he was holding, but the fact that he looked messy…while wearing his uniform.

"Oh, you're up." The older male said, walking over and placing the bag down on the kitchen counter.

"What's that…?" Setsuna asked, head resting against his crossed arms.

"Miso soup and tempura! Sumeragi-san made since she was worried about you," He said as he looked for something around the area, most likely bowls, "You know, since you were asleep for so long."

That was rather nice of her (though he did wonder why she was worried about his sleeping habits), but then again she _was_ his second mother. The youngest would have to thank her the next time he say the older woman. It was slightly surprising to find out that she was actually a pleasant person, given the stories he heard about evil landlords that kicked people out for no apparent reason or just plain terrorized the tenants for the hell of it. The older woman wasn't anything like that, instead being a mother-hen (not in the bad way) when it came to her younger renters. Though…to be truthful he wasn't quite sure how old she was compared to anyone. His husband had asked once, and she only replied that 'a woman should never reveal her age'. He didn't really understand the response, but never questioned it.

Now finding that his body had someway or another obtained a little more energy, he sat up on the knees…but that was about it. He watched as his husband retrieved the table from the closet, sitting it down next to him once done. The soup was poured, the tempura was plated, and for some reason he could not shake the feeling that something was off. It was the oldest…the way he instantly perked up the minute he saw him awake, the way he was leaning against him as he muttered something along the lines of 'I'm glad you're finally up'…just what the hell had gone on while he was sleep? But…Setsuna chose to ignore everything, mind still slightly hazy from his resting period.

The younger male began to eat his soup, probably a little faster then usual since he felt like his hadn't eaten in days. It was quite good, the lightness of the entire dish did his stomach well since he didn't want to eat something heavy during that time of the day…not that he actually knew what time it was. Once he was done with the soup the tempura was next, and he needed to ask their landlady if she had ever worked in the restaurant business. It was perfect…not overly greasy or dry, an ideal balance between batter and shrimp. Even he had trouble with balancing things out, either adding too much or too little. Of course his husband and Lyle didn't mind, saying that they liked it either way. They never really…criticized him about anything, making it seem as if he was the ideal person.

He was not perfect. Period. End of story. He had flaws, because he was a living, breathing human being and without them…there really wouldn't be anything else. Perfection was something he never strived for, his philosophy being to just work hard and hope for a pleasing result. The youngest didn't think that was asking too much of himself, but his husband thought that he took to this much harder then he needed to.

Alternating between the soup and the fried delicacy, he managed to completely down everything that was given to him. He did feel a little bad about it, not once asking if Lockon wanted anything. He'd have to make it up to him during dinner. Setsuna sighed a little, lying back against his futon as he finally did something other then laze around that day.

"You can go back to sleep if you want." His husband said as he reached over and ran his fingers through the younger male's hair. He closed his eyes for a moment as he enjoyed the feeling of having the older male touch him, since he was sure he hadn't been aware of it while asleep.

"No, I'm fine…" He started, shaking his head a little. "It's Sunday, so I have to clean."

"Monday."

"…What?"

"Today, it's Monday."

What the hell had he just said? No, no, no, no, he had to be joking. There was no way he'd actually slept through all of Sunday and had woken up on Monday! He was just messing with him…his husband probably just wanted to get some kind of rise out of him, so he staged the whole thing to try and trick him. That wasn't denial, was it? Looking over at him he told the older male that his joke wasn't funny, and that if it was really Monday he would've woken him up. But when he was told the other had tried several times his heart sank, feeling as if some kind of horrible crime had been committed and he was the criminal. Sitting up he grabbed the older male's shirt by the collar, telling (more like yelling) him that he should've dragged his ass outside…or something along those lines! As long as he left!

Lockon looked with a slightly bewildered expression on his face, as if not understanding what the younger male was trying to say. Oh it was rather simple what he was trying to say…husband or not he had a goddamn obligation to wake him up if he overslept! Setsuna didn't care if ice water was poured on him, he needed to be up! He felt so…irritated towards the oldest, basically for not trying hard enough. But it was his fault too, and it really didn't seem right to put all of the blame on one person. It was probably wrong of him to snap at his husband, but he just couldn't give that irritated feeling go because…

Never in his life had he missed a day of school…He'd didn't let anything stop him, and that was the truth. The youngest had even come to school with a fever, passed out, had been taken nurse's office and had gone right back once conscious since he didn't want to miss anything. Missing school meant being behind, and being behind meant failing miserably. What if he missed a test? What he missed notes that took up the majority of the final exam he'd have to take in December? What if he failed horribly _because of this one day_? He was going to panic if something was not done about this horrible act…

"Oh, by the way," His husband started, reaching into his bag and pulling out a notebook, "Here, they're Tieria's notes. He said you could copy them since you missed today, but you'll have to give back tomorrow…if you're awake that is."

Copy? The youngest had never copied from another person…mainly because there wasn't any need to. He looked at the book for a good while, knowing very well that the second youngest took as many notes as he did. This was his only chance…even though it wasn't the same as physically taking notes in the classroom, it was the only thing he could do to keep from failing. Letting go of the older male's collar and took the book, quickly flipping through the paged until he found the right one. He'd missed quite a bit…

Going over to the closet he opened it and pulled out his bag, reaching in and pulling out his notes (or the one he hid from the others). Taking it back over to the table he began to work, ignoring everything around him like he usually did. He was thankful that Tieria had legible handwriting, because it just made the process faster that way. He didn't have to guess what the other was trying to write, squinting and writing in something that couldn't have been the right phrasing. The younger male's eyes moved back and forth between the two books, his hand never stopping as it wrote down what he saw.

He felt horrible while doing this…to copy someone else's work felt wrong, like he was stealing when he was perfectly capable of doing something like this on his own. However…he needed these damn notes if he wanted to graduated, so he sucked it up and kept writing. Even if what he was doing seemed like the easy way out, like he really wasn't trying, he still continued on since it was still part of his educational process. On and on, there were actually three pages of writing he needed to take down, and his irritation only depended as he turned to the next. This could've been taken care of, but no…he was asleep in his bed as school went on without him.

Setsuna wasn't sure how long he'd been writing, but once done he placed his head down against the table, feeling so completely ashamed of what had gone on that day. The youngest barely felt it when his husband wrapped his arms around his waist, barely felt it when he gently pressed his cheek against the back of his neck…in truth he felt too discouraged to feel anything else. Why had he been asleep for so long? He didn't feel overly tired that Saturday night…so why? Was he even in control of his own body anymore…? The younger male didn't even want to think about what would happen if something like this happened again…His hand hurt, his mind was screaming at him for some reason, and he felt like saying something but couldn't find the words.

"You really did need this break…" The older male said, holding him a little tighter. Break…he couldn't have one of those until later…the break after exams, New Years, a few days after that…that's when he could really rest. But until that time he had to work hard, study and find a way to keep himself from sleeping days away. Even with saying that he did understand where his husband was coming from. He always worried about him, because even if he didn't tell him what was going on school he knew deep down the other sensed something was amiss.

Coming out of his discouragement slightly, he sat up and sighed, knowing what he needed to do. Turning around he pulled the other even closer to him, arms now wrapped around his neck as he now lie against his chest.

"I'm sorry…for snapping at you." Setsuna said, felling the oldest relax against him.

"As long as you're alright it doesn't matter…you're my cute uke after all."

Wow, that was probably the shortest transition from 'serious' to 'idiotic' he'd seen his husband go through. He pushed him back and called him, what else, a pervert…though the whole thing would've gone over much better if he hadn't actually been pulled down against the futon with him. Not thinking much of it he hit him a few times in the shoulder, saying that he was in no way a submissive person. Which was true! Lockon didn't try to stop him, just laughing while saying that 'not matter what he said his cute wife was still his uke'. He…was…not…a…_UKE_!

He wasn't sure how long the two of them were down there, but it wasn't until he noticed the slight blush on the older male's face that he knew something else had gone wrong. Looking down he finally saw how they were placed; he was basically straddling the older male's hips, noses an inch away from touching. His husband's hands had somehow slipped from his waist to…_a little lower_. To say that the two of them were in an awkward position would be an understatement, and right then the youngest knew that he needed to do something…before something happened the both of them would regret.

Setsuna told his husband that they probably 'needed to move', looking away while inching himself away from him. The older male agreed, sliding himself from under him, an awkward silence forming as he did so. The two of them sat there, neither touching nor looking at the other. It was truly amazing how much a situation could change so quickly when it came to them, because both understood that there was a line that was not supposed to be crossed…at least not yet. So there they were…two people sitting in a room, one blushing more then the other, the feeling that someone needed to say something slowly mixing with the uncomfortable one.

This wasn't the first time they'd been like that, because they were young and it just came with being a romantic couple. The accidental dumps that seemed a bit to sensual, the odd positions they sometimes found themselves in…it was a part of their daily lives and something they would probably never get use to until something was done. It would be…he didn't know how long it would take, but something would happen between the two of them. His fears would probably prolong the day that seemed almost necessary to come up, and that fact did make him feel a little horrible. The youngest wasn't sure what would actually push him over those fears, making him completely forget about his stupid phobia of getting himself neglected.

"Setsuna, you're up! I was really- did something happen?" Lyle started as he came through the door, but obviously noticed the position the two of them were in.

Of course, he didn't have one problem to deal with…he had _two_.


	12. The Non Confession Chapter

"Tieria, do you love me?"

He _**hated**_ the question…and if it wasn't for the (slightly) obedient nature that had been forced into him, he would've gladly forced those words back down the other male's throat. He wasn't allowed to touch the other in such a fashion, though that rule no way implied to his…would-be husband. He hated the man that sat across the small table from him, hated that his freedom was limited the moment he arrived in town.

Tieria remembered that day very well, because how could someone forget the day the chain around them became shorter? Shortly after his grandparents had died, a day so very overdue, an air of anticipation fell over his household. His parents knew something…and it wasn't like he could ask them what they were hiding. The second youngest was on a 'need to know' basis with the two of them, and it had been that way since the day he was born. He was just there to carry on the family name, so 'affection' was a luxury the people that had raised him weren't offering. He'd quickly gotten over that fact when he was younger, so the hugs he never received, the sweet words usually spoken to a child…he didn't mind not having felt any of it.

Though he had read somewhere that a person who had not been given affection as a child, be it in any form, would try to obtain that same affection from someone else. That could've very well been true…he did spend his time around his friends more then his family, but Tieria thought it was just because he generally liked them. Maybe the truth was…he wanted some kind of attention. Neglect was something he'd gone through in his life, something he thought really didn't affect him all that much. But his friends didn't neglect him, and when give then option of actually forming a family with the five of them…he didn't pass up the opportunity. His mother and father were just people he had to live with, they had no bond whatsoever.

Dumping the thing that was supposed to be called his family wasn't hard, because when there really wasn't anything there it didn't take much to rid himself of it. He should've been happy with that, should've relished the thought that the five people he'd come to know where always going to be there for him…but he couldn't…because _that_ man had moved in…

On that day he'd come from school feeling pretty crappy; it was the last year he'd attended school in the village, his graduation was quickly approaching only a few months away. It would be a big change…to actually leave the place he'd grown so use to. There were definitely going to be more people around him, more floors to climb, more teachers, and just a much bigger place then he was use to. High school wasn't that much of an intimidating thing to him, and if anyone ever messed with him he'd just beat them up. It might've seemed like a harsh thing to do, but the second youngest needed to establish that he was not one to be messed with.

He was given martial arts lessons by his father for disciplinary purposes, to make sure he knew that no matter what he'd be lower then everyone else and therefore needed to be obedient, silent, and submissive to others. Like hell he would…but he kept his mouth shut and learned what he needed to, even if he didn't believe in it. His father in no way went easy on him, it seeming like he was trying to let out a hell of a lot of aggression he'd been holding back for years. Of course it hurt, and just like his training with his mother he came up with probably the most ridiculous excuses for why he looked like he'd been pushed out of the moving car. That's what it actually felt like to be truthful…

Tieria had made it a habit of entering the house through his own door, not wanting to alert anyone that he had come back…not that they would care that is. It just made coming and going easier in his option, because the less interaction he had with them the more likely it was that he'd leave in a relatively good mood. He slipped his shoes off at the door, because front door or not he was still entering a house. Once inside he really wished he hadn't walked in; he saw both his mother _and_ father sitting the chabudai that was specifically supposed to be used for tea, and given what they were drinking it seemed appropriate. But there was a third person there…

It was not their first meeting, that taking place the night before school started a few years ago (which just happened to be Setsuna's first festival). His parents had completely sprung it on him, much like they had with that meeting as well. The second youngest had ran the first time, not even wanting to face the truth so soon. But something told him that running was out of the question…When he was told to sit he slid the door shut, sitting next to the man he knew as his 'cousin'. The air was stiff and filled with a seriousness not even he was use to, it obviously having something to do with whatever reason his would-be husband had for being there. His mother began to tell him that due to recent events (the death of his grandparents), that Ribbons would be moving in with them.

That made his heart sink for some reason. He didn't even know the other, but yet he was about to move in…However, that wasn't the only thing she needed to tell him; there would be rules set up, ones that were supposed to be followed without question. For starters he was not supposed to harm his cousin, and if Tieria ever laid a hand on him he would be beaten for his lack of respect. He was still considered an Erde woman, and therefore he was expected to have little to no rights in his household. That pissed him off…The next rule was that he was not allowed to leave the house once night fell, since they considered it 'suspicious' for anyone to roam the streets at such a hour. Like hell he was going to follow that one.

The last, and probably most uncomfortable one, was that he was supposed to share his room with him. He _really_ didn't like that…there was only one person that was allowed to be anywhere near him once asleep, and that was Allelujah. He allowed him to do things others couldn't, and he in no way would allowed his cousin to steal something like that away from him. But what could he do…? Leave, that's what. That man…someone he didn't even know was not going to get the best of him. Tieria merely nodded as she finished, saying that he understood what she had said…but really saying he wasn't going to follow them. He didn't care about them, his cousin, or their goddamn rules. Even if he was still a bird, one that would continually come back…he would break that damn chain one day.

He would not allow himself to be played, that's what he originally thought while sitting at that table…but he was wrong.

"No, I don't…and I never will." He said as he placed the cup of tea to his lips, knowing what was probably going to come next. Tieria didn't brace himself as he was rough stuck across the face, his cup flying quite a ways away from him. But as always the hand that had hit him now caressed his cheek, as means to say 'I didn't really mean it'. He was psychotic…no, it was probably better put that he was an akuma.

Those sweet words that never (and would never) reached him, the slit second snaps that would always be followed by some kind of apology…all of it was to mask the horribly sinister person he really was. The second youngest had seen it often, the true face of the man he was supposed to call his 'husband' in the not-so-near future. Sometimes that evil, malice filled look of his would leak out from time to time, and of course his parents ignored it. In their delusional eyes he was perfect, the son they never had and wished for probably everyday. He could do no wrong, but their actual son on the other hand…mistake, mistake, mistake. If it wasn't for the fact that the family line needed to continue, they'd probably throw the second youngest on the streets.

However…the evil that was Ribbons truly manifested itself once they were alone. A month after moving in he had somehow gotten it into his head that Tieria was his play thing, meaning that he could ask and do anything he wanted to him. It started out slow, the much older male asking who the boy was that kept coming by or why he would leave against his parent's wishes. Why lie? He told him that the 'younger' Haptism was a friend, like the other four people he went out with, and that if he wanted to go out he could. He always told the truth, no matter how absurd the question seemed…but it wasn't until he started asking if he had any romantic feelings for him that the violence started.

Maybe it was the way he delivered his answer, maybe it was the fact that it was rejection every time, but something about it just made his cousin snap. The first time he'd actually hit him the first thing he felt was shock, not pain, but shock that he had actually been hit in such a way. He sat there stunned for a few second, refusing to believe what had actually been done to him but knowing that he really couldn't deny it. The questions just continued on from there, and since there really wasn't much he could do about it the second youngest continued to speak the truth. He wasn't going to lie…not about something like that. Though that seemed bad, it wasn't the worst of the worst.

That came a year later. His bastard cousin exploited the 'not allowed to strike him' rule to its fullest, and by 'fullest' he meant being felt up on a regular basis. It was amazing how he was able to keep himself from actually attacking the other, but when one threatens the well being of the people close to them they'd do pretty much anything. Ribbons had that kind of power…to completely wreck the lives of the only people he saw as his family. It was the kind of thing that came with being the son of a wealthy tycoon, one of the many reasons his _entire_ family could be considered something like the mafia. Since he was indeed on a 'need to know' basis he didn't know just what really went on with his family, but he knew it was in no way good.

So in order to protect his friends he allowed himself to be touched, and it scared the living daylights out of him. To be pinned down, and unfamiliar hand trailing down his body, making him jerk and fidget…he didn't like it. Surprisingly his virginity was still intact, which probably meant the other was just buying time so he could strike at his most vulnerable. It was sick really, but it was the thing he had to live with until that damn chin was broken…Of course his cousin wasn't doing it out of attraction, he was doing it as a means of control. Ribbons was just showing that he had the right to do whatever he pleased, and there was nothing the second youngest could do about it.

Swatting his hand away, Tieria told him that he could hit him as much as he liked, but he wasn't going to answer the question any other way. As if he ever would! The older male only laughed, saying that it didn't really matter what he thought since his fate was already decided for him. That didn't have to be true…but he allowed his would-be husband to believe it, letting him live that that delusional little world of his. Getting up he began to leave, knowing that he probably wouldn't make it out the door without some kind of bruise. Before he could open it he was slammed against the hard frame, making him give off muffled sound as his right arm was pulled behind his back.

"Now where do you think you're going…?" Ribbons asked, mouth dangerously close to the younger male's ear.

"Away from you, obviously." He said, struggling a little. After a few seconds he was let go, his cousin telling him that him leaving also didn't matter. He'd always come back, this was true, because his will and reasoning for completely leaving such a place were not strong enough at the moment. That was why the much older male decided to let him go…because he knew he'd just come right back.

Upon opening the door the second youngest left, neither looking back nor taking the 'you're mine' comment his cousin called out to him. Tieria was not a piece of property, one that would be owned by a single person. He'd learned over the years that his worth could not be determined by those who hated him, but instead by those he held high regard to. This was why he was heading over to the 'younger' Haptism's place, because it was where he wouldn't be treated like a thing. Maybe he did spend a lot of his time over there, but it wasn't like there was anything he could do about it now.

Taking the bus all the way to southern town to see Setsuna and the Dylandy twins everyday seemed a bit excessive, so he just decided to stay close to home. Sighing a little he tried his bypass any kind of stone that looked sharp, since he was wasn't wearing any shoes. He just wanted to get the hell out of there, so he completely left his shoes where they were and didn't even bother to change out of his uniform. It didn't really matter to him, Tieria just have to wash his clothes once he'd reached Allelujah's house (he did own an extra pair of shoes over there). He really did live over there, didn't he? But it wasn't like anyone minded (at least he hoped no one did), so he continued to come over because it made him happy.

The Haptism twins were…and odd pair, but they were still his friends none the less. Though...he did have to wonder about Hallelujah sometimes; he was irritating and above all else he knew how to push his buttons…but yet he hadn't kicked him out of his life. Connections had not been severed, and no matter how much they 'fought' he'd never kicked the living hell out of him (i.e. broken anything major). The thought of doing something like that had crossed his mind many times, and he could say the other had probably had the same thinking. But they didn't…

After knowing each other for years, it was amazing that they managed to tolerate one another for so long. Maybe that was their friendship…to just stand one another but not actually become close. But then there was that stunt he pulled three weeks ago and it didn't making his option about the other do a one-eighty, though it did make him wonder just what went through that head of his. 'Nice' or 'pleasant' were not things one would associate with the 'elder' Haptism, and he never once thought those would _ever_ have anything to do with him. He did what he wanted because he felt like it, which was why he thought the slightly older male was plotting something when he asked him out.

Of course he originally just went along with him to escape his god-awful house, but it wasn't until a few hours went by that his mind went 'wait…this doesn't seem right'. And it didn't…Next to taking various photographs and annoying the hell out of people, Hallelujah's favorite pastime was sleeping…everyone knew this. So why he hadn't raced home and practically collapsed on his futon, becoming an unmovable object that no one could awaken until three hours after the fact did startled him. Deep sleeper didn't really describe the state the 'elder' Haptism put himself in…it was closer to 'he seemed dead' then anything else.

Oh the second youngest knew he was on the other's list of priorities with the words 'irritate to death' right next to his name, but when he wasn't irritating then…what was he? All he known the other as was the 'irksome bastard that looked like Allelujah', and when that was taken away he didn't know what would be left. Once the image of the person one knows for years is shattered, what would happen? What if Hallelujah wasn't really Hallelujah? As in…what if the annoying as hell person really wasn't that annoying? Obviously he wouldn't be like his brother, but what if he was close? Did that mean he'd have to be nice to the other…? That…would be rather weird. He didn't actually take pleasure in arguing practically everyday with him, and the break from trying to one up another in a conversation would be well received.

The 'younger' Haptism would obviously be happy with this change if it ever occurred, since it did mean less running on his part. Why the two of them weren't on the track team was beyond him…Once he'd finally reached the correct house, he knocked a few times before he stepped back a little. After a few minutes the door was open, a small sigh escaping him. Allelujah seemed a little surprised that he was still in his uniform, and also a little surprised that he had come over in socks. He just lied and said that he was in a hurry, and since his room was getting boring he just decided to leave and didn't notice.

Well…that wasn't a complete lie. He had been aware of how he looked, but in no way decided to leave right away…He was supposed to come home right away and serve his cousin tea, by request of his parents who thought it would 'bring them closer'. Really now…how goddamn dense were they? There was nothing in the world that would make him grow closer _that_ man, so he didn't see any point in staying. The second youngest managed to get himself out of it most of the time, either racing to his closet and changing then leaving or just not coming home at all. But this time he wasn't so lucky…he was there for only twenty minutes, and that was too close to his breaking point.

He was let in, him ignoring their sleeping mother on the couch as he made his way up the stairs. Tieria didn't know why the woman always seemed passed out whenever he came over, but it was probably one of those things he needed to leave alone. He'd heard enough bad mouthing from his parents about her to last him a life time, and it was just another thing to hate his parents for. They always thought they were better then others, looking down on them as if they were just insignificant nothings that were always in the way. Thankfully that trait had not been passed on or rubbed off on him, so he really didn't have an opinion of the woman…and he really didn't need one.

Sitting down on the slightly older male's futon, he leaned against Allelujah once he was next to him, head resting against his shoulder. He told his body to finally relax, since he only permitted it to do such a thing during lunch and when he was around the 'younger' Haptism. It was odd though…that after so many years this one person was always so willing to let him to this. He didn't do this with any other person, didn't allow them to gently pat his head as his relaxation began to may him drowsy.

But something felt off…the moment the door was open he noticed the older male expression completely change, going from his normal, 'oh Tieria, you're here' to something that looked like a cross between surprise and…_embarrassment_? No…that couldn't be right. He'd seen that expression before, mostly when the two of them were caught in some kind of position that was deemed 'odd'. The look he had seen today had been nothing like the other one, so what was the problem? Maybe he thought he's done horribly on a test felt bad about it, so much so that he wasn't acting a little funny because of his insecurity.

It'd happened before when the two of them were younger; at one point the middle level and upper-secondary level were required to take the same test (slightly different questions of course), it being some kind of thing the teachers were supposed to sent away to the Osaka Board of Education or something. It took up most of the day, so when their lunch/break period finally came around everyone was abuzz. Lockon freely admitted he was fifty percent sure he failed, laughing a little until he was told he'd be looked at as 'stupid in all the eyes of Osaka' to which his mood changed. Obviously it was just a joke (maybe a harsh one), but it didn't stop him from clinging to his wife and asking 'do you really think I'm stupid?'…Setsuna never actually answered that question.

Hallelujah said it was a waste of time, that the test was probably nothing more then an excuse to make the test they already took harder. The other Dylandy agreed with him, saying that if enough students failed they'd probably would…to which everyone looked at Lockon, who just held his wife tighter. The 'younger' Haptism didn't say a word, only fidgeting as he held his hands tightly together. Tieria noticed, like he noticed most of the things he did. It didn't necessarily mean he knew what the problem was, but the fact that he'd become aware that there was one was enough. He asked if Allelujah is he thought he'd fail, to which the other put his hands up defensively and stuttered out 'o-oh course not!'

Sure, and he was three headed dragon. The 'younger' Haptism, much like Lyle, had a problem hiding his emotions when it came to certain situations…that just happened to be one of them. Grades were a tricky thing for some students, the marks either making or breaking them. But of course people like Lockon, his brother (somewhat) and Hallelujah didn't really care either way, though he wasn't sure if the youngest fell in with those three idiots since he never really voiced his opinion when it came to school. Tieria for one, unlike the Baka Rangers, thought that grades were important, which was why he took ever opportunity to help Allelujah with when he needed it (though he didn't fair so well since they were in two different levels).

Patting him in the head the second youngest told him that there was nothing wrong, adding that Allelujah wasn't like the Baka Rangers so he didn't have anything to worry about. Well, it was true…That seemed to perk him up after a few seconds but of course his brother just had to say something, it being along the lines of 'aww, you're girlfriend cheered you up' which just started their daily chase. But on that particular time he didn't really mind running around and looking like an idiot, since he had gotten one of his close friends out of the 'dumps'.

But this too seemed different from that time…

"H-How's Setsuna? He's feeling better, right?" The 'younger' Haptism asked, having been informed of the state Setsuna had gotten himself into a few weeks ago (because his husband thought it only right to tell everyone).

"He's fine…it is Setsuna after all."

That was a lie. He wasn't supposed to tell anyone about what he saw in the class room…The youngest sleeping in was a clear start of something that needed to be stopped, but given how the other worked it would take more then telling him to give him a wakeup call. He was going to break soon, the stress of everything finally beginning to show its true colors. They didn't sit together, the younger male's seat located near the last row by the window while his was in the first near the door. Even though it was quite the distance, he still had a clear view of him. He'd glance over from time to time, either seeing him being torture in some way or working hard while only listening to the teacher's words.

But lately he'd seen him acting differently, the first thing being the momentary halts he would have. Tieria would see him writing, taking noted like he usually did, but then…he'd stop. Pencil stationary, attention still down, and face completely blank. It was as if his mind had completely stopped, leaving him unaware of what to do next or what he was doing for that matter. He would just sit there, blankly staring his notebook before he would regain his senses after a few seconds. It didn't just occur in the classroom, but also on the roof during lunch. The second youngest could tell the difference between Setsuna's 'zone outs' and these new halts, his zone outs actually making him look as if he was focusing on something while the halt were nothing but blank.

Then there was the exhausted look he had on his face. The younger male's excuse was that he kept forgetting to study, so he'd have to work into the wee hours of the night to make sure he knew what he had written down. Lies…He never forgot to study, and hell, he didn't even need to study to pass. He was smart…probably more so then most of the students in their class, but for some reason he lacked common sense. There was a difference between working hard and overdoing one's self, the youngest no longer straddling that line but blurring it. He couldn't see that what he was doing was hurting his heath, breaking him down and confusing him. He in no way wanted that for the younger male…

Setsuna was a good kid, one that didn't deserve all the horrible things that happened to him. But there was nothing Tieria could do about it…he couldn't consult the youngest because he wouldn't listen, he couldn't tell the either of the Dylandy twins since he'd promised he wouldn't…so he was out of options. It pained him to know he'd been turned into nothing but an observer, unable to do anything as he watched his friend slowly lose his sanity.

The second youngest asked Allelujah to change the subject, no longer finding it interesting (really just wanting to lessen the pain he felt). The two began to talk about how boring school was, reminiscing slight about the days the six of them were taught under the same building. Those were good times…maybe they wanted to live in the past again a little too much, but anything was better then freaking out about the future. None of them cared about that sort of thing back then, living in ignorant bliss as they just allowed the day to go on. Their naivety was alright back then, acting like children since they were supposed to and not caring who thought otherwise.

But they were growing up…school was important now, future actually did matter, and they could no longer be ignorant about the world. It was different…the transition from childhood to adulthood, one that had been particularly hard on him. Though that might've been, he still had the people close to him and that was enough to make him forget about how harsh his upbringing had been. He still had Allelujah…the person he was the closet with out of the five of his friends, and it had always been that way.

"Do you, um, think it's weird…? That we do this kind of thing?" The 'younger' Haptism asked somewhat abruptly.

"Weird?"

"Being so close."

He looked over at the slightly older male for a moment, wondering just why he had asked such an odd question. Tieria said they he didn't think it was weird since they'd been doing it for such a long time, it being a habit the two of them couldn't seem to break. But…he'd admit it was a strange habit. No one else did what they did, which was probably why they were called a 'couple' so often.

"I was, um, just thinking…" Allelujah started, but seemed to stop himself.

"Thinking what? Are you feeling okay? You're acting a little off…" He said, noticing that he was being held a little tighter then usual. The slightly older male told him that he was fine, but given how the air around them had gotten thick Tieria could tell that something was going on. There was silence for a few seconds, all the while the second youngest could feel the other trembling slightly. What was going on…?

In truth the silence was started to kill him, since he himself wasn't much of a fan of it. That was probably why he hung around the people he did, because they weren't the silent types that sneered at people as they walked passed. He didn't need more people like his parents and cousin in his life…He was pulled a little closer, and it was then that he heard just how fast the other's heart was beating. God, was he feeling alright? But then his fear for Allelujah's health quickly left, the realization that he was pressed against his friend's chest slowly started to sink in. Granted this wasn't the first time they'd been like that, but it just felt…_different_.

Was today something special and he just didn't know about it? It couldn't be someone's birthday, since the six of them didn't have a fall birthday. All of them either had a winter or spring birthday, and it was truly an amazing coincidence (he wasn't sure he could even use that word anymore) that all of months just happen to line up so nicely. His was the first, the day being the ninth of January. Next were the Haptism twins, their birthday falling on the twenty-seventh of February. The Dylandy twin's fell on March 3, while Setsuna's fell on April seventh…and really…how couldn't someone go 'wow'. Maybe they six of them really were destined to find one another, though that also probably meant that everything they did was predetermined for them…and knowing that even in the cosmos he wasn't free was a real let down.

Looking up he heard Allelujah let out a long sigh, which probably meant he was about to say something…it was about time. Since he wasn't sure just what the hell was going on, it didn't seem right for him to speak when something was obviously on the other's mind.

"Tieria, I-I think we should d-"

"SHIT NO!" Came the very loud voice of Hallelujah from the next room, making the two of them look at each other in surprise. That didn't sound good…when the 'elder' Haptism was that loud, it either meant he was about five seconds from going ballistic or had done something completely idiotic. Getting up, the second youngest decided to see just what Hallelujah had gotten himself into because…things wer getting a little awkward. He asked Allelujah if he wanted to check on him but the other just quickly shook his head, adding that he 'needed to think about something a little more'. O…kay…he really needed to talk to him after he returned.

Leaving the room he walked to the one directly next to it, going in and finding a somewhat familiar sight. The 'elder' Haptism was sitting in the middle of the room, pictures circling him in a fashion that only he could understand. But his hands were ruffling his hair as if completely frustrated, repeating that he was an 'dumbass' over and over again. Well that did save him the trouble of calling him that later on…Walking over he picked one of the photos up, it looking as if it was taken from while the six of them were having an outing…but it was snatched away from him before a clear view could be seen.

He asked why he'd shouted such a lewd word, and all he received was a short grunt. _That_ was what he had to deal with after the two of them were found out, the day where they were apparently trying avoid Lockon and his wife but had failed miserably. It was slightly uncomfortable…that was probably the first time the two of them had actually been outside together with no one else around. He'd never really had a reason to going anywhere with him, either because he was too irritating or because the two of them didn't have a thing in common. Well…he thought they didn't have a thing in common…he'd never really bothered to find out.

The two of them had never really been on good terms with one another, so it just seemed like it was nothing more then a case of 'oil and vinegar'. But…now that they were older it wasn't right for them to not know one another, since all those years together should've meant something. The 'elder' Haptism was his friend…right?

Hallelujah was more then a little annoyed when the Dylandy twin and Setsuna came over, the look of pure displeasure completely taking over his features. They didn't leave because there was no point in running if they'd already been caught, something the other was clearly aware of. The conversation (if one could call it such a thing) between the four of them felt a little tense, as if there was something being hinted at but not being said. That feeling in particular came from the oldest, who seemed hell-bent on getting something out of the irritated Hallelujah. Lockon poked, Lockon probed, Lockon beat around the bush, but never once said what he really wanted to out loud. The more he talked the more it looked like the 'elder' Haptism was about to hit the roof, and he really didn't feeling like watching a one-sided fight.

Apparently Setsuna sensed this and began dragging his husband away, muttering something along the lines of 'if I can't interfere, you can't'…he'd tried asking what that mean the next Monday but received no response. From then on Hallelujah didn't really talk to him all that much, either giving him some kind of muffled noise or completely ignoring him until Tieria hit him. Having the slightly older male not speak to him felt strange, and whatever the problem was he was going to fix it…if possible.

"Tell me what's wrong, now."

So it was straight forward, but that's the first thing that popped into his head. He looked up at him for a slit second then looked back at his photographs, the second youngest figuring it had something to do with those. They really looked like a random assortment that had nothing to do with one another, but he didn't have an eye for that sort of thing so he could've been wrong. For someone who had such a cynical view of the world, a good portion of his pictures were filled with people smiling, laughing, and just having a good time. They were cheerful…not the dark and gloomy picture he thought the other took.

He was a cynic…everyone knew this. But even if that was true it didn't seem to reflect in his photos; he'd seen him on many occasions snapping pictures of random things, the second youngest thinking that he would just taking them home and crop them with words like 'foolish' or 'swindler'. But the ones he was looking at were fine, nothing added to them at all. It was almost like his cynical nature disappeared when the he held that camera of his, probably knowing that such an attitude couldn't really be on all the time.

Asking again he wasn't given anything, not a movement, not a look, nothing. Wasting his time was something Tieria did not like, because he could've so easily been doing something productive with the seconds and minutes that were being wasted away. He was the patient kind, but when it came to the 'elder' Haptism it just seemed to wear thin. This was getting nowhere…fast. Giving it one more shot the second youngest asked if there was something he need to say, because if not he wasn't going to just stand there waiting too for much longer. And once again nothing was said from the other…

"Fine, have it your wa-"

"…I royally screwed myself over…" Hallelujah finally said, taking his hands down and crossing his arms. He told him that there was a project he needed to turn in for his photography class, the basic outline being to tell a story of the student's choosing (his choice being a day to night theme) and set it to music. Obviously it would be placed on a flash drive once the correct combination was found. That didn't seem hard…given the amount of photos that lay scattered on the ground there didn't seem to be any problem. But then he was told that no matter how many ways he tried fitting them together, making them into jigsaw puzzle pieces and placing them side by side, none of it made sense.

It really couldn't have been that hard…so he told him to scoot over. The 'elder' Haptism quickly looked at him in confusion, as if he'd just said something in a different language that was beyond his comprehension (which wouldn't have surprised him since he had failed English). Getting on his knees, Tieria pushed the slightly older male over a little, taking a seat next to him and looking all the photos.

"What are you doing…?" He asked, looking over the second youngest as he began to rearrange the pictures.

"Well since you don't seem to have the competences to do this alone, I'll help." Tieria said, moving the photo that his hand was on and placing it next to another. Once he was done he showed it to him, saying that it looked completely fine to him…but was quickly called an idiot. The other said that there was no cohesion in what he did, the flow between each looking so sloppy that he was sure to fail if he ever turned something like that in. So Tieria tried again…and again…and again…

And that was how the two of them spent the better half of the afternoon, the second youngest getting shot down with every attempt and Hallelujah doing the shooting every which way. It was insane! Everything he did was called stupid, messy, idiotic, and scattered! Seriously, it wasn't that bad! But…it wasn't his project after all, it was the 'elder' Haptism's, and if he didn't like it he didn't like it…no matter how much it was pissing Tieria off. On and on they disagreed, time passing in such a way that it was almost unnoticeable unless one looked at the clock.

Becoming completely fed up the second youngest blurted out that 'maybe the pictures themselves were the problem', which earned him a look from the older male. He didn't look angry…the expression was more thoughtful then anything else. Had…the second youngest said something to make an idea pop into his head? Hallelujah quickly got to his feet, stepping over the photos as he made his way over to the desk in the corner. Tieria watched as he picked his camera (not his digital one) up, opening one of his drawers and pulling out some kind of lens as he muttered to himself.

Before he could question just what he was doing a hand was placed in front of him, the other basically telling him to take it. His body tensed with hesitation for a moment, not knowing just what would become of him actually taking that hand. He still didn't have much trust in the older male, since going with him probably meant something he'd regret was going to happen. But he still took it regardless, and was jerk forward and up as the two of them made their way out the door. The younger of the two didn't say a word as they fled down the stairs, didn't make a sound as they left the house and ran in what looked like the direction of the forest. Why were they heading there? They didn't physically enter the wooded area, but he was propped up against a tree, told to stand there as Hallelujah took a few steps back.

Now it was time for questions…

"Okay, what are we doing out here…?" The second youngest asked, looking around for anything that looked ridged.

"I figured out what the problem was."

"What is it?"

"I'm missing pictures," He started, looking up for a moment, "Two to be exact."

Two? So they were out there taking pictures? And…did that mean he was his subject? Other then his class picture and group photos, he'd never once posed for anything in his life. In all honesty he didn't think he was very photogenic, because he would always make some kind of face when a camera was pointed at him. He wasn't sure why he did such a thing, but since the second youngest knew he was going to be used for the other male's project…his nerves started to kicked in.

He quickly told the other that it was probably best to find someone else, but all of the older male's attention was directed to the sky making it seemed like he wasn't listening at all. He said it a little louder, earning him a look but also earning him a 'would you shut up for a minute?'

"What are you looking for anyway…?" Tieria finally asked, the irritation he felt inside the house slowly starting to catch up with him. Letting out an aggravated sigh, Hallelujah told him that since he'd forgotten his reflector at school he needed to wait for the natural sunlight to hit him. Great…there was no telling just how long the two of them were going to be out there. Leaning against the three, he couldn't help but look up at the sky as well; it was already starting to change into that late afternoon shade, the one where the oranges and reds fused as one, making it look quite stunning.

Their days were going to get longer…that was the only bad thing about fall and winter, everything just seemed to slow down. School drag on at a snails pace, the two seasons being the only time he'd ever watched the clock and prayed that it sped up by some stroke of luck. But it wasn't all bad; when change was in the air it meant more time for going out, especially during the winter time. Summer and winter were probably the best times for the six of them, because it meant more spare time and more time to not worry about anything. Of course they still had homework over winter break, but that could easily be finished within the first week so it could be completely taken out of the picture.

But of course with the Baka Rangers it was like pulling teeth…no matter how many times either he or Setsuna told them to study, they always put it off, saying that 'there was no rush!' There was always a rush…It always took place a week before school was supposed to start back up and he, Allelujah and the youngest would always be near by at a table watching them, drinking tea and having snacks. They'd offer them some, once a certain amount was finished, but it was really easy to just starve the three since it made them work ten times as fast. It was funny really…that food motivated them the most when it came to those situations, and it was rather amusing to see them rush through everything with blazing speed.

Yeah…those days were fun. That word…'fun'…it was slowly being taken out of his life, bit by bit. The more time he spent around his cousin, the more he felt that pieces of him were being chipped away. He was beginning to feel fake…like everything he did, said, and felt were what his body _wanted _to feel, but for some reason _couldn't_ get out. It was not the person he wanted to become, and he would fight till the very end to make sure those things that made him _him _were still in tact years from now. The second youngest could feel it, the hand of the older man reaching inside of him and trying to rip away everything that made him happy…but he wouldn't allow that bastard to.

It wasn't until Tieria heard a click that he remembered where he was, looking over he could see the 'elder' Haptism now lowing his camera. He'd already taken his picture?

"W-Wait, I wasn't read-"

"Doesn't matter." Hallelujah said, completely cutting him off as he began to walk way from the second youngest. What the hell did that mean? Quickly going after him, he asked just what the point was of coming out at all if he wasn't going to pose. He turned around, rubbing his temples and asked just what the other would do if he'd asked him to. Well…he'd…so he wasn't sure, but he'd at least think of something. It was then the slightly older male told him that he specifically _did not_ tell him to pose since it lacked the natural element he was looking for, and there was no way he was going to add something that looked like an outing photo to his project.

Natural…was that the reason all of the photos he took looked so random? There was an _actual_ reason for his madness…?

"Look, let me just say this and I really don't care if you think it's stupid," The slightly older male started, "There's a lot of thing in the world that just look fine as they are, and to be frank I'd rather use up a roll of film on something real rather then the idiot poses people do. You suck at taking pictures, most people do, so I prefer having you stand there spacing out, looking ordinary, and just being you."

That was probably the second time that month the slightly older male had said something that surprised him…He actually sounded serious, something he thought the other was not capable of. But it wasn't the seriousness that really got to him…it was the passion he heard behind those words that made a chill run down his spine. He'd always seen the 'elder' Haptism an unmotivated, uncaring, and above all else an immature person that really didn't give a damn about much in the world. But yet there he was…telling him his reasoning behind just why he did what he did. Tieria was the kind of person who always had a set mind frame of people he knew, but once broken he wasn't sure what to do with himself…

This was one of those times…it was like he was standing in front of completely different person, not the same one he'd talk to hours ago. It was almost like something had grown, like the older male was showing off a trait that wasn't there when the two of them were younger. His mind wandered over to something that just couldn't have been the truth, because that meant change had occurred in a place it rarely had. Change was something he didn't have a problem with, just as long as it worked in his favor…but this…he wasn't sure what this meant. From that time, all those years ago, to this one…had Hallelujah Haptism actually grown up…? Had his maturity actually developed over the years, but had gone completely unnoticed by most?

This was crazy…so he fled (well, really just walked away). Of course there was another reason for his leaving, it being that he had left Allelujah alone for a bit too long. But it did startle him…knowing that so much was going on around him and yet he hadn't noticed it at all. It felt…strange. Walking into the house he made his way back upstairs, trying his best to rid his mind of the thoughts of the 'elder' Haptism that would not leave him. Today was just not his day, and if he could Tieria would've loved nothing more then to skip it completely. He could've slept the day away, but there was no way in hell he'd spend the entire day at his own home.

Though it wasn't like he actually _could_ sleep the day away…His internal clock had been set for years, always going off at the same time and there was no resetting the damn thing unless he was attending a new school. It almost made him envious of the others, that they could shut it off given the day. That feeling must've felt nice, to fall asleep in the middle of the night and wake up the next day in the afternoon felling completely refreshed. The second youngest would feely admit that he wanted to call Setsuna lucky, since he had slept for over twenty-four hours uninterrupted. However, he couldn't do such a thing because _that_ kind of sleep was unwanted.

Once inside the 'younger' Haptism's room, he found him lying against his futon, looking completely lost in thought. His arms were behind his head, a distant look coming from his partially closed eyes. He was seriously worried about the odd behavior he was showing, hoping that there wasn't some kind of serious matter he needed to know about.

"I'm sorry I was gone for so long." The second youngest said as he kneeled down next to him, running his fingers through his hair. He stopped once the other placed his head in his lap, arms lazily wrapping around his waist. This was a little uncommon, but they had been placed like this a few times. Allelujah muttered a small 'it's alright' as he held him tighter, silence slowly sinking into the room. It was the kind of still calm that he didn't mind, one that he'd grown use to as they sat near his backdoor, at the streams edge, or in the corner of someone's room.

They were growing up, and as much as he hated to admit it there was a chance they were going to grow apart. He'd known this fact since the two of them were small, and no matter how much ignorance he filled his head with he was reminded of the truth everyday. His friends aged, matured, and they would move on from the village…Denial wasn't something he liked to put himself in, so unless his will become stronger there was no way he could break away from such a god-awful place. But maybe Allelujah could help him…sure, the second oldest had said he'd 'take him away' years ago, but that was nothing more then a childish rambles.

Something solid was what he wanted, not the questionable words of a twelve year old child. The 'younger' Haptism was not a kid anymore…that was for sure. His words could be trusted, taken seriously because those days of immature talk were over. He was still that sweet person Tieria had _really_ met while he was half asleep against his backdoor, the very same one that always came up with an excuse to come over. The other had already helped him out a lot, the main thing being the realization that his pitiful little life did have some kind of meaning it…other then the one his parents thought it held, of course. He wasn't useless…someone needed him and it was clear that it was the person lying in his lap.

But that could've been his imagination…He didn't know if the older male _actually_ needed him at all, as in there was some kind of deeper meaning to what the two of them had. Was the other just taking care of him because he felt bad? Well…not really 'taking care of', it was more like 'looking after him while he temporarily ran away from home'. But if he really felt bad, wouldn't he have stopped all of the hugging the two of them did? So…did that mean he needed a friend that was a pillow?

Every person he was close to had a secondary function to them, be it from Setsuna who was the 'friend he could tell almost anything to' to Hallelujah who was the 'friend(?) he could vent on, i.e., basically release his frustrations on'. All of that running did do him some good, the momentary burst of adrenalin making him forget about what was ailing him while he screamed for the older male to 'stop so he could kill him'. Then again his brother could also do the same thing, but the second youngest really couldn't put the two in the same category.

The 'younger' Haptism didn't make him run, didn't irritate him to the point where he thought a beating was necessary, and didn't make him want to pull his hair out. He just sat (or lied) there, held him close and didn't talk about anything deep. He didn't seem complex, the person he was clearly presented in front of the world. Tieria liked that quality more then anything about him…he didn't have some deeper layer that would come to the surface after a while, scaring the living daylights out of everyone around him. Allelujah was just…there.

He needed to ask again because he completely trusted this person…more so then before. Reaching down he placed a hand on top of the older male's head, keeping it completely stationary as he thought back to that night. It didn't really seem right to compare this moment with that one, since they were indeed to very different situations. Back then he didn't know just how bad his life would turn out to be, and even if he was only seventeen the future looked rather bleak for him. He didn't know how bad the shift in his life was going to be, the one that would occur the moment he turned twenty.

That was when the _**real**_ hell started…The second youngest had never hated the thought of a birthday more then that. He wasn't married to his cousin just yet, because due to his family customs one could not marry until 'adulthood' (which happened to be twenty). Of course there would be a ceremony, filled with only his family members who had traveled many miles just to see _the most_ miserable day of his life. Weddings weren't supposed to be like that…they were supposed to be a day worth remembering, and if anything the day people remembered the most. It was supposed to be a joyous occasion for everyone, the air practically dripping with bliss as two people came together to form a contact based on affection.

But this would not be the wedding Tieria would be attending. It would be a forced union, the complete one-sided nature of it all being so ridiculous that it was almost laughable. His life might've had value to it, but it wasn't meant to be toyed with by people so uncaring and unsympathetic. Stupid, stupid people…they didn't deserve to have children, let alone raise them.

The worse part of it all was his inability to tell anyone about his fate. Of course he'd already told Setsuna about some of the hardships he faced at home, but not all. This wedding thing…he couldn't tell a soul about it. When it came to the people that were 'supposed' to be raising him, lying just seemed to come natural to him, seeing that he had been doing it for most of his life. Deceiving his friends didn't bother him all that much, because he knew if the truth ever came to light they wouldn't understand. His problem was a family one, not like the social one the youngest had to deal with on a regular basis. Even though traditions were something that could've been broken, his family was so set in their ways that it seemed (and was) impossible.

No…his and Setsuna's problems were completely different, and even though they were lying one reason was deeper then the other. Tieria's couldn't be fixed with the few words, a simple action like 'talking it out' would do nothing but waste time that could've been better spent. The blood that ran through his veins would always be there, unlike the day to day school life that would only last a few more years. He wasn't trying to say the youngest should've toughed out his torture, not at all, but he did know that his anguish would probably disappear once they graduated.

The poor kid…he lived in such a messed up little world, and really all Tieria wanted to do was help him. Everyone knew about his past, the one where he basically isolated himself from the world due to being mistreated by his peers. That did explain his mild fascination with anything seemed relatively 'normal' to other people, like the Ramune he tried for the first time. Originally the second youngest just thought he was crazy, that the kid from the State had a few issues. He really was an anomaly when little, the way he always seemed introverted and lost in thought, like the real world held little meaning to him.

He really did seem like he wanted nothing to do with other people, like they were nothing more then a hindrance of some kind. Touching him seemed completely out of the question, the 'I'm going to kill you if you don't let go' look he gave his husband was a clear sign of this. But he no longer acted like that (for the most part), and he wasn't quite sure what the oldest had done but it had worked. The two of theme were…quite the pair, and at first glance they looked like they'd never even consider speaking to the other. Lockon was indeed a different person after his wife had arrived, the air of fakeness that usually surrounded him completely leaving.

It was nice seeing the two of them happy, but unless Setsuna said something about what was going on in school…_something_ was going to happen. The second youngest saying that their relationship was at stake might've been a little much, but there would be some kind of falling out between the two of them if something was not done. Tieria knew the oldest wasn't_ that_ dense, so he must've noticed the recent behavior change in his wife because it was rather obvious. But…if he noticed, why hadn't he done something about it? The youngest had a complex character, that was for sure, so approaching him about a topic he didn't want to talk about was going to be a hassle. Though…shouldn't he have been more inclined to talk to his husband then anyone else…?

So confusing…

Maybe it was the whole 'relationship' thing in general he didn't understand, seeing that he currently wasn't in one…and probably never would be. Given his situation there was no way anyone could date anyone, because there was just too much going on around him for focus to be put on one single person. It was a shame really…to be seventeen and never once been taken on any kind of romantic outing. He was a third year! The end of the year was coming (though not necessarily close), and it really did seem odd that he had never even had a crush on anyone. Of course he could've so easily accepted a few of those confession letters just to see what an actually date was like…

_But he wasn't going to give into those idiot's requests_. Even though the number had gone down, there were still letters in his locker, the handwriting either looking as if it had been written in a rush or the person in question was shaking from nervousness. He hated opening his small locker, hated the mere sigh of the white envelope when he just wanted to retrieve his goddamn shoes. Damn cowards…if they wanted to ask him something, they should've said it to his face. But no…they resorted to tactics that would only get them rejected in the worst kind of way.

He hated reading them…they were always overly dramatic, saying thing that no normal person would ever utter to a living soul. Really it sounded as if they skimmed through a romance novel and wrote a few things down, and Tieria owned enough of them to know every kind of cheesy, clichéd and horribly idiotic line out there. It truly was his guilty pleasure…to crack one open when no one was around and see just what kind of overly erotic story was behind the cover. He didn't enjoy them because they gave him a peek into a world he didn't know much about, oh no…those small books did nothing of the sort. They were funny and probably the most amusing thing he'd ever read, mainly because the situations were so outrageous that, hell, how could they not be humorous?

'_A man wakes from his five year coma only to find that his beloved wife has, gasp, moved on! He cannot cope, life filled with so much dread and sorrow that it seems like the end for him! But wait, a mysterious woman appears one day saying she knows how to get her back! But who is she? And why does he feel as if he's seen this woman before?'_ That was the kind of thing that drew him to those books…the utter ridiculousness of the plot, if one could call it that. He didn't know how someone could write something like that, let alone allow it to be published under any kind of label. He wouldn't go so far as to say that the books were poorly written, since a majority of them actually were.

But there actually was a certain type of novel that he enjoyed reading other then the cheesy romance ones, and not because he thought they were unintentionally funny. Two years ago (maybe three, he wasn't sure) both he and Setsuna were in the bookstore, because it was a Friday and the youngest always had to pick up his copy of some kind of magazine. _Weekly Shonen Leap_? Something along those lines…He didn't mind the youngest being an otaku, since it allowed his attention to be focused on something other then schoolwork. Tieria followed him into the manga section, never really noticing just how big it was until then. Were there really that many titles?

Manga was just something he never really got into, not because he thought it was boring or anything. He could've found something that was equally as romantic as those love novels, but he never really thought to look before. Maybe it was the lack of visualization he himself had to do that turned him away, the characters and setting were already laid out for him so he didn't have to guess what looked like what. But he did have a mild fascination with why the other liked them so much, because 'they're cool' just didn't seem to fit his personality.

About ninety percent of what Setsuna did had some kind of meaning to it, be it small or large. From the way he always did things in a certain order, to the way he always seemed to have some sort of calculated formula for everything…it had meaning. Of course since he was still young and he was supposed to perform random acts from time to time, like whenever he blurted out things that were probably best left inside his head then muttered around normal people. Maybe he just couldn't hold it in, or maybe it just slipped unconsciously…but really, something like 'Hallelujah likes Tieria' shouldn't have been on his mind at all (really it shouldn't have been on _**anyone's**_ mind).

However, he couldn't bring himself to scold him like he did the others. Yelling was a given, but he didn't raise a hand against him like he did with the others (minus the few slaps that snapped him out of la-la land…Setsuna didn't mind those). It might've been because of that one day the six of them went out…but that was beside the point! The younger male was…something of a little brother, and though he had never wished for one the feeling of having something close did give him a strange sense of protection over him. Those instincts only kicked in when the two of them were in school, and seeing that the kids around them seem to have some unnecessary resent towards him…it was logical.

In short, he didn't want anyone picking with his brother…because that 'logic' was complete bullshit.

According to the Dylandy twins a trip to the bookstore with the youngest usually lasted a little over twenty minutes, because he was the kind of meticulous person to check everything that looked interesting before leaving. But since it was a Friday it was a 'get in get out' sort of operation, or it would've been if something had not caught Tieria's eye. It looked like the manga Setsuna usually skimmed through, but the odd thing about it was its placement. Fiction was the section it was in, but that particular fiction section was only for non-manga books…so what was it doing over there? Had someone misplaced it?

Wanting to investigate, he asked the younger male what the oddly placed books were. Looking over at them for a moment he replied 'a light novel', a term the second youngest had never head of before. Walking over he picked one up and flipped through, finding that it was indeed a novel but slightly different. It didn't look overdone, like someone put bare minimums of detail inside and just followed it with a great deal of dialogue. That was interesting…so he bought it. Once he had actually gotten back to the village he found that the 'light novel' was just that…light. It was a quick read, but even so the entire thing was much more entertaining then those romance novels.

Even with its heavy dialogue structure, it was still a surprisingly deep piece of literature. The one book he had purchased drove quite deeply into a school universe that could in no way exist, the student's crazy antics going completely unnoticed by most teachers. The characters themselves seemed a little out there, but that didn't mean they weren't relatable. There actually were drawings in the book, the art style being manga-ish (the same that was reflected on the cover) which only added to the affect. But it wasn't a manga because that sort of format was not being used, but…could it really be called a novel? It was fascinating that he didn't know how to place the small thing, and that was even more reason to buy more. However, that didn't mean he'd give the others up, instead decided to just buy the both of them whenever he want out.

And he had accumulated quite the collection.

The second youngest kept them all in his closet, and since it was big enough to fit three people inside comfortable (that was no joke) it made for a good space to just escape when he couldn't leave the house. Of course there were times where he couldn't leave, because his cousin always found a way to say things that would hit him deep. The man knew his weakness…knew that if the right words were said that his will could be bent so easily. Tieria hated hearing the threats, hated knowing that they could've very well come true, but did anything to make sure they stayed as nothing more then the words from a malevolent pit viper

It was pure desperation really…his pleads of 'no don't' or 'I'll do it' always rang in his head after they left his lips, because it just showed how much he could be manipulated. Sick, wasn't it? But at the present moment there was nothing he could do about it, only acting as if he wasn't slowing being broken down for the sheer amusement of three people he wanted nothing to do with.

"Um…" He began in a small voice, "Do you remember the conversation we had a long time ago…?"

"Which one?"

"The one about taking me away…" The second youngest muttered, a small pang of embarrassment starting to hit him. Tieria felt the other nod, him adding that it was indeed a long time ago and wondering why he brought it up. Sighing a little he asked the very same question he did that night, this time with a little more desperation in his voice.

If he said yes, he'd believe him…The silence that followed was expected, not at all coming as a shock. The 'younger' Haptism was barely awake back then, the only thing he probably heard being 'blah, blah, blah, away, blah, blah, please'. That was another thing…there was a good chance he hadn't _fully _grasped what the younger male had said, so it just reinforced asking him again. This was serious…and his only hope was that Allelujah had not fallen asleep in his lap. History was not going to repeat itself, not on his time…not when he really needed to know the truth.

The second youngest shook the older male, asking if he had heard what he had said. He felt another nod, followed by the arms around him loosen and leave. The 'younger' Haptism sat up and stretched a little, yawning as he did so which only proved that he was on the verge of completely falling asleep. Well, at least he had caught from before he'd slipped off into Dreamland…but why was he so tired? It wasn't Friday so it wasn't like the there was supposed to be an outing of some kind, so what was the deal? The second youngest knew that collage life was a little more hectic then high school, but it was also more open ended. After so many years being in the educational system, being told what to take could really get tiresome.

However…that changed once one entered 'higher education'. Freedom…that's what was given to people who entered that level. The second youngest sometimes thought that the Japanese Board of Education did this just to screw with people, to basically mock the middle and high school students who were forced to follow strict guidelines. That couldn't have really been the case…He'd been told that because of the open-endedness of the collages, it was a good way to find out just what kind of person one would be once out in the real world. With so many options to choose from, why wouldn't it be the place to find out who someone really was? Collage was about…exploration and discovery.

High school hindered people from expressing themselves, outside of the clubs and sports of course. With so much uniformity it was amazing how most students survived it all, the constant reminder that you were not an individual replaying itself as soon as you stepped in the building. No matter which way that uniform was manipulated, it was still the same as the person standing next to them. Something like that didn't trouble most people, since they were told not to pay any mind to that kind of thing. Hell, he was…'you're not unique, just one of many' was basically one of the many life lessons his parents tried to drill into him. Of course the word there being _tried_…

He had to wonder just how an entire family could tell others that they didn't matter behind their backs, like some kind of gossiping old couple who held a grudge against everyone for no reason. It was true people weren't born that way, that upbringing and environment played a major role in that kind of behavior. But…couldn't they have ignored it like he did? He could not have possibly been the only family member who saw such a way of living ridiculous…the second youngest couldn't have been the _**only**_ black sheep. Then again…he didn't associate much with his other family members.

School was like a dulled down version of home really, because he said one thing but really meant another. The teachers told him 'be the same as everyone else' he just nodded, not because he agreed but because he understood the insanity that was coming out of their mouths. The people teaching them were idiots…trained during their days in collage that children were children, all were the same and all of them deserved to be treated the same. Somewhere out there was a teacher that didn't hold those ideals, but he had yet to meet them yet…so he would assume that they all just didn't care.

However, none of that would matter the moment high school was over, because it meant doing what _he_ wanted. To just get the hell away from parents, cousin, their absurd traditions and just do what he wanted for seven to eight hours. That wasn't asking for too much, was it? Tieria just wanted a goddamn chance to be himself in some kind of educational surrounding, and he actually hadn't done that since he had attended school in the village.

It probably should be noted the village school and the ones in the towns were different. The second youngest was completely shocked once he'd found out that the secondary, upper-secondary, and middle levels he was use to were completely different things to others who had grown up in the towns. The middle level was apparently a separate school, and it was there that the habit of wearing uniforms was supposed to beginning. Uniforms in high school were enough, so it wasn't like they were missing much. In the village everything was held under one building until high school…and he was thankful for that. If there was anymore separation of the six of them he would've killed someone, granted it would've gotten them more prepared for the fact that leaving was going to occur in general.

He'd admit that the six of them some kind of odd connection to one another, and that the likely hood they would know one another for the rest of their lives was questionable…but within that questionability there was a spark of hope. The second youngest wasn't the extremely optimistic type (he left that to Allelujah), but he felt like the thought that of them being together for a long time wasn't just wishful thinking. They'd move on from the towns and the village at some point, probably scattering every which way…but would never forget. The group would come back together from time to time, doing something along the lines of their Friday outing and just overlook the fact that they had left at all. _That_ was the kind of bond they shared…

"O-Of course I'll take you away, since, you know…" Allelujah started, but seemed to trail off.

"Since what?" The younger male asked, wondering just where he was going.

"I-I, um…want you to be happy."

Well, that small statement made a warm feeling appear in his chest briefly. He really was a nice guy…Smiling a little he leaned against him, saying a small 'thank you' as he let the interaction with his Ribbons earlier that afternoon fade away. He wanted to go with the 'younger' Haptism, no matter where he went. Even if it made him seem like a lost puppy, just trailing someone and never going forward on his own…he didn't care. To leave and never come back would be his greatest accomplishment, and to enjoy that accomplishment with the person who had given him a small amount of hope would be…well, it'd make him more then a little happy.

"I-I also think that we should, y-you know, da-"

"Oi, I need to borrow your girlfriend for a minute."

Why did Hallelujah always have to interrupt…_**and he was not a girl**_!


	13. The Breakdown Chapter

Why was this happening now…? Why when everything was so close to the end…? He was going to die, he knew it…This wasn't supposed to happen, not when everything was so close to the end.

After so many months of prep, months of memorization, the week where it really mattered finally came…exams. They were a nasty thing…taking up the majority of the school day, which meant the students were allowed to leave after the fact. All clubs were cancelled except sports related ones, because there wasn't an off season for a few of them. As much as that would've pleased quite a few people, leaving or just practicing, first they had to sit through _hours_ of staring at a test booklet, the sound of pencil scratching paper the only thing that echoed throughout the incredibly silent room.

They were given a break, of course, but it was nothing more then a measly twenty minutes so the students could eat. After that it was right back to work…a few teachers worried that the break would only allow students to exchange answers with one another, having them cheat to achieve a much higher score. Those teachers were new…so they didn't know. Every class was given a different test, because the teachers themselves had complete control over what was written down. Of course that control was taken away during the final exams, but that wasn't until the end of the year and they were allowed no breaks during that time.

Even if a student managed to speak to another in their class about it, there were at least five different variations of the test…and how someone managed that was beyond him. The chance of a friend getting the same test as another was slim, so he heard most students didn't even bother with cheating. Which for most teachers meant disciplinary actions didn't necessarily need to be taken, and really they just came in to administer the test. If anything they probably went through the same level of hell the students did, the only difference being that they didn't have a _single_ thing to do. Since they were supposed to be 'monitoring the test' their attention needed to be put on the students. So they had to watch the students carefully…for _hours_.

It was insane, and even though he understood just why they were supposed to commit to such a thing… it was the fact they weren't allowed to do _anything_ that seemed a little unfair. His first year teacher said 'you guys are young, responsible adults, so screw it' and just went to sleep, because it wasn't like there was someone wandering the hall that was supposed to monitor the teachers monitoring their students…that would just be absurd.

The youngest could never become a teacher…not because he disliked children, that wasn't the problem. He just thought that he wasn't the kind of person who'd give others correct advice, because being a teacher wasn't just _being a teacher_. It also entitled the person in question to be a consoler, caretaker, and disciplinarian. Everyone needed someone to talk to, no matter the age or gender. Sometimes others could not confide in people they had some sort of relationship with if there was a problem, because it meant treading a line that was very thin. Friends, family members, and well-known adults already had a set mind frame when it came to the attitude or behavior of others, and when that mind frame was broken they were left two options…worry excessively or actually deal with the problem. Ninety percent of the time it was the first one (at least in his life).

To talk to a stranger or someone that was not particularly close in one's life was much easier, because that person wasn't going to be bias. They would listen and would not judge right off the back, because their knowledge of the person was limited or next to nothing. They would actually take time after the explanation to thinking up a concrete solution, one that didn't involve someone being looked at differently. That was just another reason he could not speak to either of the Dylandy twins about his issues…He _knew_ they cared about him, _knew_ that the two would try to the best of their abilities to make him feel better…but that would not _fix_ the problem.

Hugs and kisses weren't going to make the 'bad children' go away, the actions only putting him through a false sense that everything was going to be okay. Things weren't okay, and the youngest wasn't even sure if they'd ever be okay. What if there was some kind of strange pattern in his life? Where for a certain amount of time everything in his life would be fine, like his time spent in the village…but after that another period would start that would be nothing but hell. If his life was truly like that, there was no telling how long he'd be able to keep his sanity. He didn't want that at all, because he had gone through enough to the point where he thought the path he was currently walking shouldn't have been so rough. Ups and downs, fine, but constant downs? That was too much…

Teachers were not supposed to be babysitters, but for eight hours that's what a few of them were turned into. He'd seen it so often in his village school days; granted the people he attended school with were still younger, but the sheer amount of energy they had was crazy. He'd watch them from his seat, running around, drawing on the blackboard, playing games with one another, and as they did all of this his mind would constantly question how anything ever started or finished in such an environment. But his teachers just took it in stride, always saying that 'this was how children were supposed to act'. So…did that mean he was the odd one out? He didn't act like the others…but they didn't treat him any differently.

In their eyes he was probably nothing more then another playmate, which was what he was treated as. They treated him as if he was just like them in ever way, but did call him 'weird' often because of the way he acted. Setsuna knew he didn't fit in, knew he didn't necessarily think along the same lines they did. They were carefree as they ran around the person who was supposed to be instructing them, but played along since it was really the only way to make them calm down. If the rambunctious children thought their teacher was one of them, it was far easier to control them. It was the way the younger mind worked, and for some reason back in the States…he was not accepted in their world.

So he created his own, it was as simple as that. At least he thought doing something like that was simple in the beginning, but the truth of that matter was it just made his life harder. A world within a world could never work, the two never co-existing the way he wanted them to because of the sheer difference they held. The population of his world was only one, only him and no one else, and that was the way he liked it back then. Everyone was a nuisance, everyone was just there to hurt or bother him so they needed to be kept in a separate place. He was such a dumb child back then…but it didn't seem right to be so harsh on his younger self nor act as if it didn't exist at all.

It was a part of him that was worth remembering, because forgetting meant denying everything that had happened to him in the past. He couldn't forget what he'd gone through to get his mind out of the horrible fog that had build up after so long, the very one that produced that cruel voice that told him that the world was not worth being a part of. The youngest didn't act like that anymore, didn't listen to the voice that spoke twisted words to him as he went on with his day. It was still very much there, because after so long he couldn't completely get rid of it. He barely noticed most of the time, only paying it any mind when he felt at his worst. It wasn't as loud as it use to be, that probably having something to do with the fact that the severity of the 'bad periods' weren't _that_ bad.

When younger he was in a constant state of depression, so of course the negativity he held was going make the feeling stronger. It really did control how his life was run, because the words it spoke to him made sense to his weak mind. He followed what it told him loyal, never once questioning if such a way of thinking was correct or sane. Well…that was before he moved to the village.

Disciplinarian was a given, because children weren't supposed to run amuck while something important was being taught. But then again…all the teachers he'd ever had weren't very good at this, and for some strange reason things still got themselves done. It wasn't laziness he saw, just a disregard for how things were supposed to be run. So…did that mean being strict produced results that weren't as desirable as if one were to be passive? He'd overhead from a few others students how much they hated their stricter teachers in the school, mainly because they didn't allow them to have 'fun'. It was school…it wasn't meant to be fun. Maybe in the years that came before high school, sure, but not when the expectation of one single person was so high.

High school was…a place that bound people to responsibility whether they liked it or not. Everything someone did was looked at and picked apart, this also include how they behaved in class. Setsuna had read somewhere that about eighty percent of teacher judge students on the first day, labeling them as the 'silent kid', 'delinquent', 'study bug', 'daydreamer', or 'leader type'. If that was indeed fact, what did that make him? The youngest did work hard, but he from time to time caught himself staring off into space. He didn't talk to anyone while in class, but wasn't the type to jump right in when it came to class decisions. So…what was he? It was obvious that his torturers didn't know the answer to this question either, which was probably why they hated him. But what about his teachers? If they didn't know what to make of him, did that mean he was an anomaly in their eyes as well?

That would be horrible…He'd always thought the rest of the world looked at him as 'odd' or 'strange', but that was just a _thought_. To actually have that be true meant that he would always be picked on, always be that person people talked about behind his back because he did not 'fit in'. Great…just great…

Everything started last Friday, and it was one of those days where he should've known that something was setting him up for failure. The youngest and his husband did not retreat to their hideaway that day, nor did they hang out with the other like they usually did. All six of them had talked about what would go on before and during the 'exam period', because fun was nice but exams needed to come first. So they all agreed that all outings would be put off until exams were over, which meant studying came first. For _certain_ few that was like asking then to walk on hot coals in the middle of the Sahara desert, agonizingly painful and hard as hell.

Studying wasn't that bad, and why the Dylandy twins and Hallelujah found it so difficult always puzzled him. It was just going over the very same things that had been taught in class, but seeing as how the three would fall asleep during that time it would explain their resistant nature towards it. It wasn't like they were up half the night watching TV and getting sugar high off of candy…though he really couldn't speak for the 'elder' Haptism since he had no clue what went on over at his place. He along with his husband had a bedtime, and there was no amount of aging that would change this fact unless it was the weekend.

Sleep was a necessary factor when it came to just functioning out in the world, so just because he was away from his parent didn't give him the right to break such a habit. It wasn't childish to have a set time for sleep, since staying up into the late hours of the night ALL the time was in no way healthy. Even if his dreams didn't always agree with him, he'd only make them worse by neglecting something that was a part of life. But…too much sleep was something he didn't want to go back to anytime soon.

Getting himself lost in such a vast place was never a good thing, because the eight hours he slept during the weekday and two to three hour naps he took during the weekends were enough to show that it was not a pleasant place. The youngest wasn't sure why his dreams were never inviting, though to be fair he did have a few mediocre one a few times a year. He couldn't recall ever having one where wake up actually seemed like a bad thing, and it just didn't seem normal to him. He originally thought the problem was the lack of relaxation he felt before actually falling asleep. There was some since he was falling asleep next to his husband, but it wasn't enough to make him flat out lose consciousness right there. Allelujah suggested that he try having a hot cup of milk before bed, since it seemed to do the trick on him whenever he was feeling restless.

And it did do the trick. But that didn't mean it fixed his 'bad dreams' problem, it only helping him to fall asleep faster then he usually did. It was a nice feeling having something warm in his stomach before drifting off into unconsciousness…even if it was _milk_. He hated the stuff, not because the taste bothered him, but because of the implications others would get if he was seen drinking it. Setsuna was not short…he was just a sixteen year old that was 'normal height' while everyone else was taller then him because of their age. He did not drink milk because he believed that the calcium or whatever would make him grow, no, he drank it because it was something other then water, juice, and soda! It was just about variety.

The youngest kept up the habit for a good three months, heating up a small cup of milk before heading off to bed. That was until Lockon opened his mouth…Everything was fine during those three months, he'd even found out that flavoring the milk made it taste better. He was much more inclined to eat or drink something that had a fruity taste to it, and he wasn't quite sure why that was. Certain things just weren't supposed to taste like fruit, but to his surprise milk didn't fit into that category…and so did chocolate. He'd found this out one year his husband and brother had purchased him a box of chocolates during Valentines Day, something he specifically told them _not_ to do every year (though he wasn't sure if he meant it or not).

They'd given him a box of chocolates that had a gooey strawberry center, and he was more then a little hesitant about trying them. The youngest had never eaten chocolate with any kind of gooey center to it, mainly because…he didn't know how the manufacturers placed the 'gooey' inside. Nougat, fine, coconut, alright, caramel, great, but something that oozed out of once the piece of confectionary was bitten into? No way…The box stayed in the refrigerator for over a month, and he didn't touch the things until he started to feel a little pang of guilt for not having done anything with them. It was a gift and he should've at least had the decency to eat one…so he did…and he _loved_ it.

Because of that experience he somehow got it into his head that chocolate, milk (since it _was_ milk chocolate) and strawberries were supposed to go hand and hand. Now he couldn't very go out and buy strawberry filled chocolate just to melt them down, it just seemed like a horrible waste to him. So instead he went out a bought two different types of syrup, one chocolate one strawberry, and each night he poured an equal amount into his warmed milk which made it change into a muddy pinkish color. Though it might not have looked like the most appetizing thing in the world, the taste made up for everything.

Setsuna liked having milk before bed…but did not like the comment his husband told him. How long he'd been holding it in could have been questioned, but none of that mattered as soon as the sentence 'I'm sure you'll get taller soon because of this, I know it' came out of his mouth. Why…why did he have to say that? Why did he _need_ to say that? That's what he thought as he chugged what would be the very last glass of milk he'd have before bed, because if something like that was said again there was no telling if blood would be spilled or not. He…was not…_short_.

Collage exams were always a week before the high school ones, and both held pretty much the same format when it came to just how the exam was actually dealt with. One subject was dedicated to one day, and classes such as gym or extra circulative activities like art didn't need to be worried about since everyone's schedules were rearranged, basically meaning EVERYONE took that same one subject the same time as everyone else. The entire student body was signed up for some kind of math, literature, English (the language), history, and science class no matter if they were a first, second, or third year. Gym was always a given which left one slot open for a class of the student's choosing.

That was one of the major differences between the collage exam and the high school one; since there weren't any set classes one had to take in 'higher education', if a student didn't take English they didn't have to come in. It was _mandatory_ in high school to come, and it was just another thing that made him wish that the end of the year would hurry up. It was hell really, but he'd dealt with it before and survived so he could do it again.

As usual Hallelujah stopped by each day during the week before collage exams, and as Tieria always said 'you couldn't have one without the other two, since it would make the 'triangle of stupidity' incomplete'. It was a little harsh, but did hold some truth to it. He would watch like he typically did, answering the very few questions they asked him and looking what they wrote as they worked (it wasn't _really_ work, but he would call it that for the time being). It was amazing just how many time they tried to being him over to 'their side', that being the one of cramming, slacking and waiting until the last minute to do anything. He didn't need to do such a thing, which was why he always declined their offers.

Setsuna _reviewed_, which was completely different from cramming since he had more then the basic knowledge on what he was looking at in his note. He did this the Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday before the test week, because he thought that was enough time for him to memorize all the information he wrote down. In forty-five minutes there a lot could be said, and if the teacher didn't write anything down on the blackboard listening become a crucial skill. The youngest had somewhere along the line developed a technique of writing while not having to actually look at the paper, and this came in handy if he ever caught himself staring out of the window. But of course there was a drawback…he could only hold such a skill for two minutes, and after that if he didn't look back whatever he was writing would look jumbled or completely messy.

Once the two returned to their apartment that Friday afternoon…there was an odd feeling in the air, and he knew very well what it was. Since he was going to devote most of his time to reviewing, the Dylandy twins would be ignored most likely the entire time and it wouldn't just end the moment Monday came. It wouldn't be right for him to just flat out stop once exams started, since light reviewing did benefit him quite a bit. But luckily the two understood this to a certain point, and back off for the time being.

That was…until they became bored. When this happened it would be nothing but annoying, him trying to ignore their constant suggestion that he fix this or that, the hugs he played off because he knew they wanted him to notice, and all the stressed 'Setsuna-chaaan' and 'Setsu-chaaan' really drove him up a wall. Why couldn't they just find something to do to pass them time? It wasn't like it was hard with the vast amount of things to do like…okay, so there wasn't that much to do around the apartment. But really…it wasn't like they couldn't go out on their own, since the three of them didn't need to go everyone with one another…even though it felt nice when they did.

However it was slightly different this time; a wave of exhaustion had over both of the older males, Lyle retreating to his room for sleep while Lockon leaned against him for some kind of support. Their fatigue was not all that surprising since it was the last day of their testing, meaning that the two probably were not only going to annoy him but _groggily_ annoy him. That was even worse…The youngest could only sigh as he began preparing dinner, telling his husband that he needed to let him go in the process. He figured if he made a big enough pot of curry and rice it would last them the rest of the weekend, which opened him up his schedule for more reviewing.

It wouldn't be the first time he'd made curry, but it would be one of the few times he'd made it alone. It was just one of those dishes he just couldn't get right unless his mother was there, though that wasn't to say it was impossible for him to make at all. When she wasn't around it tasted like something completely different then what he was use to, and when she helped him it turning into something that brought back childhood memories of when he'd watch her cook at the kitchen table. He didn't understand…he used the same ingredients she did, same cooking time, same resting time, but it still didn't turn out the _same_.

The youngest couldn't help but ask her just why he couldn't replicate when he'd seen her do countless times, because it was seriously started to irritate him. She only said one thing, and at first he didn't fully comprehend…but after letting it simmer inside of him for a day he understood…_'If you love what you do, everything should turn out just fine'_. Setsuna liked cooking, but really just saw it as a way to feed others…he didn't _love_ it. To love what one did add something extra to it, something that couldn't be put into words but could be felt without a doubt. He wasn't sure if he could love some kind of hobby with that much passion, but he was still young so there was no telling just what his attention might grab onto.

Before he could even ask his husband if he wanted to help (only because he was making so much), he found him lying against the floor and at first glance the younger male couldn't tell if he was asleep or not. Not wanting to disturb him it just seemed easier to do everything himself, and that did save him the trouble of scolding the other for doing something wrong. Since he had gone shopping earlier that week everything he needed was in the refrigerator, so he simply took it out and began prepping it. Curry was really nothing more then vegetables, meat, maybe a fruit or two (he usually choose apples) for a little more sweetness, and powder curry mix. He could've made the mix from scratch, but decided against it since the time it took to actually do everything need would cut into his reviewing time.

Once everything was properly prepped, he pulled out the biggest pot they had and filled it with water. It was only used for occasions like this, one where some kind of stew was necessary if he didn't wish to cook for a few days. On the other hand it was good for when company of any kind came over, since it lessened the amount of work he had to do. But that wasn't _always_ the case when others would visit them…

Sometime during the winter everyone got together and had shabu-shabu, which was nothing more then a hot-pot. It was a fairly simple process really; he provided the pot of boiling broth, while the others brought over the vegetables and meat. Everything was raw including the meat, and just how Tieria got his hand on the high quality stuff was beyond him. It was a fun thing to do on a cold day, and it just became even more amusing when someone got into an argument with another because they were hogging all the meat.

After getting everything into the pot and boiling he began setting up the table, telling the older male that he couldn't really sleep on the floor so he should've at least gotten out his futon. He didn't move for a good few seconds, and once he did the youngest couldn't bring himself to watch the pitiful sight that was his husband trying to reach for the closet. Really…it was amazing just how lazy he could be. Setsuna shook his head as he walked back over to their closet and pulled out his husband's futon, dumping it on top of him which made him give off a little noise. Any complaints were ignored as he went back over to the kitchen, needed to stir the curry so nothing burned. Time was something he felt he didn't have too much off, so he wasn't going to waste any listing to whining.

That…might've sounded a little unsympathetic, but given that his usual character seemed to have taken a strange turn the closer exams became it wasn't too off. Something felt…different, and that was probably that only way to describe the feeling that had taken him over. The younger male noticed that he'd become increasing irritable with things that usually _**never**_ got under his skin, which lead to quite a few apologies to his husband, boyfriend, and friends. He never really found things others did annoying, or if he did he would out rightly say so in some kind of deadpan manner (he wasn't sure how often he did it, but he was aware that he did it nonetheless). But he never, _never_, shouted thing such as 'shut up goddammit! No one gives a damn!', 'could you be any more of an idiot?', or 'why are you even talking?'

The youngest didn't say those kinds of things, at least not with his more mature self. He didn't know why there was such a change in his behavior, the reason why he was lashing out at the people he was close to so badly never really occurring to him. Everything after he'd overslept that one time felt off, as if his view of the world around him had distorted slightly. His body, for one, did feel like it belonged to him anymore, it acting on its own and allowing him to have little control over what it did. He didn't know what was wrong with it, why it refused to just be as it was and listen to him. If the youngest wanted to focus on one thing, it would want to focus on something else. If he wanted to go to study hall, it sent him out the front doors and home.

Setsuna didn't want it to act on its own, because he needed to do productive things with his life…and lying on his futon _trying _to study wasn't productive. The involuntary responses to things he didn't know also got to him, the slightly shaking his body would do was unnoticed by all but still something he didn't understand. Sometimes he would unintentionally blurt out 'yes!' when ever the topic of going out would come up, knowing full well that he needed to stay in and study. If he was cooking and his husband asked to help, he'd blurt out that it was 'absolutely alright' when he knew it wasn't. If asked a question in class he'd automatically say that he 'didn't know the answer', even though he knew the answer the moment the teacher asked.

It was obvious whatever was affecting his body was also affecting his nerves, because his constant fidgeting when trying to be still was obviously new as well. He never fidgeted, never had any kind of nervous twitch that only appeared when stationary. The younger male didn't think he was an anxious person, but as of recently his body was moving and acting as if he was. His foot would tap, he'd nip at his thumbnail, he'd play with his hair, and nibble at his bottle lip because his body deemed him 'so nervous that a response was necessary'. Annoying was the best way to put it, because it made him look like a wreck in front of others when he really thought himself to be a calm person.

But then there were the random periods of time where he felt completely confused…_Those _scared him. It was if a wave of uncertainty had taken him over, rendering him unable to distinguish just where he was or what he was doing. His mind completely drew a blank and the panic that came over him made him want to run. This didn't just occur in school, sometimes happening when he trying to study at home or listening to someone else. He thought it was just something that contributed to his slight anxiousness he felt about exams, but then again…this was the first time he'd experience anything like it. But the 'episodes' only lasted a few seconds to a minute, and he would always come out of them with the feeling completely gone

Except this time…

This time something had gone horribly wrong, and why it was happening when there was only thirty minutes left in his school day on the last day of testing was beyond him. The entire week had been fine, Monday finally came and he wasn't at all tense about taking the exams. He walked into school that day feeling fine, Christina and Feldt (well, Christina more then Feldt) admitting that they were didn't know what to expect since it was their first year taking high school exams. The youngest told them that it was really just like any test they had taken in the past, the only difference being that the teacher made the tests up.

That did give them a little relief, the two quickly running off and saying that they'd see him and Tieria at lunch. He took the exam along with others, ate lunch on the roof with his friends, took the second part of the exams and went home. It was how the week went, and he couldn't help but noticed how everything went away. He didn't blurt out anything he didn't mean, didn't shake, didn't fell anxious about some unknown events he couldn't control, and didn't just stop while trying to do something. It was a breath of fresh air, but he had neglected to remember what happened the last time he began to feel comfortable with the sudden disappearance of something he considered bad.

And it happened again…He finally realized that his life was like a tsunami, that terrible or displeasing things that happen to him would suddenly go away…only to come back full force and with a vengeance. Setsuna put himself in ignorance bliss much like the first time, and just like then he paid for that ignorance in the worst kind of way. He was taking his test, and like always he was about for finish much earlier then expected. It wasn't that he wanted to necessarily finish quickly, it was more…that he knew the answers without even having to read the entire question, so he just wrote down what he knew was right and kept going.

As he was writing down an answer, only one of two questions left, he felt that sense of panic take him over. He stared blankly at the questions, knowing that he would regain himself in a few seconds. It was strange how it would just come and go, basically without any warning or sign that it was coming in the first place. Once he was able to move again, he was horrified to find that the panic he felt had not gone away…and was much worse compared to the other times. The youngest could feel his chest begin to grow heavy, his breath coming out in short puffs because of this and he tried his best to control it so he was not noticed by anyone. As he started down at his test, he saw the kanji blur and distort, making it so he couldn't distinguish what was what or his own writing from the teacher's.

However…the worst was that he could hear _it_. That sinister voice in his head was speaking to him again, as loud as he'd ever heard it, and it _**laughing**_ at him. Setsuna couldn't stop it, and the more he tried the louder it became. He couldn't take it, and putting his head down and covering it just made it mock him. The demeaning things it said to him made his chest heavier, like someone was slamming a hammer against it. This was far too much, and no matter how much he denied it he needed to leave that room. So, he got up, and quickly told the teacher he needed use the bathroom, which earned him a look from the rather bored looking man. But he was allowed to leave regardless, and practically sprinted out of the door without looking back.

The youngest didn't make it down the hall very far, him having to lean against the wall as his pants became more frequent. Something needed to be done, and going to the nurse was not an option. If something serious was wrong with him they'd call the ambulance, and he wasn't getting wheeled out on stretcher while the other students watched him. Setsuna was not going to give them more fuel. It was stupid, he knew, and if there actually was a major problem with his heath he'd have to deal with it by himself. But he just needed to be alone, needed to stop the voice that was dragging him down. The youngest tried to move away from the wall, but his body swayed far too much so he braced himself by placing his hand against it. There was only once place he could sort himself out, and as much as he hated to use the one on the floor he was on he had no choice…

So here he was…sitting on the bathroom floor in one of the stalls, hand covering his hears as he tried to control the voice and the pain in his chest. Calming his body was much easier said then done, the throbbing pain he felt was sending his mind further into a spiral he was already falling in. His irrational mind was telling him that he was undergoing some kind of cardiac arrest, which was insane, but yet his mind had tricked his body into believing. He knew exactly what he was having, and he didn't actually think it was possible for him to even go through such a thing. A panic attack…and even if he knew this his body refused to accept it as fact.

He took his hands down from his ears, finding that it did him no good, and just held himself as he pressed his forehead against the coo metal next to him. _You're useless…you can't do a damn thing right…you'll never amount to anything…you'll be alone forever…_That was just a small sample of what he was being told him, over and over again he was reminded of a person he didn't want to revert back to. Having lived it once he was sure he wouldn't fair so well a second time. Not again…he didn't want to be that person again, pushing others away and shutting himself off from the world. He couldn't do that once more…not to Lockon and the others.

The mere thought of that made his eyes start to water, and given his condition he allowed his tears to fall. The youngest didn't want to be without someone's touch, that affection he'd deprived himself of when younger was now actually necessary in his daily life.

"Oh god…" He whimpered out, just wanting everything that was happening to him to stop. He was going to die…that's what it felt like, and in his panic stricken condition thoughts like that only made things worse. Curling up into a little ball and crying seemed like the only thing he could do at the moment, because his mind felt so far gone that he didn't think there was a thing he himself could do about it. That impending doom feeling was only getting worse, and he was sure his rational mind had been completely casted aside.

Trying to get up proved to be pointless, because his body was stricken with so much pain and panic that moving mad even more illogical thinking to appear in his head. If he moved that meant leaving the bathroom, and leaving the bathroom had so many uncertain factors that it only made his anxiety deepen. What if something horrible happened? What if he fell down a flight of stairs? They were right next to the bathroom, and what if he just happened to slip? If that happened then the paramedics would have to be called in, ultimately resulting in him being wheeling away on a stretcher…and _everyone_ out be watching. There was no way in hell he was leaving the bathroom!

But…what would happen if he stayed _too_ long? What if he stayed so long in the same position that the school closed, leaving him locked inside? People would obviously panic since he wasn't the kind of person to ditch anyone without telling them before hand, so they'd obviously try their best to find him. But really…who would think to look in the bathroom at school? Not to mention the gates would be locked so entry to the actual building would be hard to next to impossible. So he would be alone…stuck in the boy's bathroom until someone found him or he gathered enough courage to actually move.

Everything he thought of had a downside, and that downsides conflicted with another and it in no way helped with the confusion he felt. Setsuna didn't know if he should stay or leave, if he should get help or continue on the way he was-

No…he couldn't keep doing this…he needed help. Staring at the ground it took him a little while accept the fact that this was indeed something serious, and he couldn't put himself in anymore denial. The youngest was having a panic attack, his body had lost control and was making him suffer because of it. He was in a painful state, one where he thought death was going to come for him any minute. If that wasn't a cry for help he didn't know what was. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his cell phone, something he always had on him since the day mother scared the crap out of him with horror stores of some of the things that _could've_ happened throughout the day. It was an unintentional scare, but one nonetheless…and at one point he though it was just a ploy to make sure whenever she called he'd never miss it. That couldn't have been the case…

Flipping it open he clicked on the icon labeled 'phonebook', scrolling down the list of names he stopped on one and placed the mobile device down. Setsuna knew he needed help, but to call that person during school hours, when he knew the other knew that the exams were still going on, it just seemed like he was going to start something he didn't want to. It was enough that he kept him blind to the ongoing of his school life, but actually call him during hours when he normal didn't was the same as practically inviting him into someplace he didn't belong. If the younger male told him that he was having a panic attack, admitted that something was wrong with him, then that person's mind would obviously deduct that something had gone wrong _during_ class.

He really needed Lockon at that moment, but he didn't want him to overact.

"S-Shit…" He muttered under his breath, panting in no way slowing. Picking up the phone he knew his decision was going to haunt him for quite some time, but there really wasn't anyone else to turn to. If he called Tieria, who was physically the closest person to him, he'd probably make too much of a scene leaving the classroom so he would be followed and they'd be found out. If he called either of the Haptism twins they would automatically patch him over to his husband (Hallelujah probably adding something like 'oi, your wife is freaking the fuck out'), so there was no point in adding another factor. And if he called Lyle…that would make things ten times worse…

He did rely on him for some kind of support, wanting him too to be that person he could turn to when he felt at his worse. However…he was far too emotional sometimes, and given that the current situation he would probably breakdown as much as he was. The last thing he wanted was to cause another person to have a panic attack because he himself was having one, since that would completely defeat the purpose of seeking help. So the youngest really had only one option…

Picking his phone up, hands still shaking, he decided that instead of calling him first he'd send him a message. It was hard typing anything, his fingers stumbling a few times over the number pads. But he managed to type what he wanted, and it was just one word but it was enough so his husband would take notice…

_Tasukete_…Upon pressing the 'send' button he gently place his the back of his head against the cool metal behind him, eyes half closed as he stare upward. What was he thinking…? What would he even say to the older male once he saw the message? He should've been asking himself these things _before_ he actually did anything, but since nothing was making any sense to him it seemed to just follow the pattern of absurdity his delusional mind had created. It was mocking him even harder now, telling him how weak he was because he relied too heavily on the support of others to get through anything. On and on it went about how feeble and stupid he was, and it only made those hot tears of his fall much more frequent.

As much as he wanted to completely ignore it and basically say that he didn't believe a thing it said, his will to do so anymore had diminished. It was right…he was a weak individual who should've been away from other for _their_ own safety. He always dragged someone down with his problems, always pushing them on whoever wanted to help and making them feel miserable. He hated help because of this…not only was he involving people that didn't need to be involved, but basically pushing the issue on them too. The youngest didn't want to do that, and this was the very reason why he did not answer his cell as it began to ring.

Not a glance, not a peek, not a single look was given to the small device as the sound rang throughout the empty restroom. This was wrong…he shouldn't have sent anything to him, and he probably should've tried to ride such a horrible feeling out. He was about to block out everything that was going on around him, but for some reason he stopped himself as his attention was focused down at the phone in his hand. The name flashing was his husband's, and the more he looked at it the worse he felt. He didn't need to be involved with this, didn't have to deal with the problems that shouldn't have existed in the first place.

The youngest should not have been in the bathroom, basically breaking down and filling himself with so much doubt and despair that he felt like he was reverting back to his old ways. So he needed to answer his phone…he couldn't deal with it alone back then, and he sure as hell couldn't deal with it alone now. Even if this problem became a burden on the older male, something this serious needed to be dealt with as quickly as possible. Still hesitant, he placed his thumb over the center button, still feeling like his husband needed to be kept away from him. But…he had to do this. Pressing the button, he placed it against his ear and it really did hurt him to hear the person on the other side…

"Setsuna? What's going on? Did something happen?" Lockon said, voice filled with so much concern that it nearly tore the younger male's heart apart. He opened to his mouth to say something, but nothing but a few undecipherable noises along with a few 'I-I'. Setsuna wanted to tell him that there was problem, that he needed him and that he was (and it took him a long time to realize this) scared.

This wasn't good; his body was starting to panic even more now that he was actually connected with the older male, and the only thing he could do was let the groan he'd been holding back out. He heard his husband call for him again, but as he slumped against the floor, basically lying against it, he really wasn't sure if he could ever speak anymore. This was a mistake, everything was a mistake. He should've stayed in the classroom, lasted the thirty minutes and ran home as quickly as possible (it was possible to walk home, though it did take _quite_ some time). The only thing he could do was whimper out the older male's name (his _real_ name), and he was pretty sure it was _**the**_ most pathetic sound he'd ever made.

"Just…tell me if you're alright or not…" He heard the oldest said, making him wince slightly.

"I-I…n-no…" Setsuna managed to get out, knowing that there was no turning back at that point.

"Alright Setsuna, then let me come pick you up-"

"N-NO! No…"

That was _**not**_ going to happen, and he would do everything in his goddamn power to make sure it didn't. He almost hung up the phone right there, not even wanting to hear something like that. He was not going to be seen around Lockon during school hours, and really thanked ever god in the universe that the culture festival was one of the ONLY times he'd ever attended. The youngest hadn't taken sports for this reason, opting to not sign up for any club because all of them in some way or another had a big event where family members could attend. He couldn't bare it if his husband was cheering him on, catching the attention of a few students who questioned 'who's this guy? He doesn't look related to him at all' and soon try to figure out the mystery of the cheering older male.

He was _**not**_ ashamed of the oldest, didn't mind being around him in public, but when it came to school related _anything_ him attending was a big no-no. If Setsuna had a normal life, one where he was not the main attraction of the circus from hell, he would've loved nothing more then to have Lockon right there supporting him in whatever he did (though he didn't do much, but that was beside the point). He wanted a 'normal' life…and having it where he wasn't the center of half the school's messed up sense of humor didn't seem like asking for too much to him.

The older male questioned just why picking him up was out of the question, and Setsuna just told him (as best he could) that it wasn't necessary since it was so close to the end of school. There was a silence on the other end of the line, telling him that his husband did not agree with that statement…but still said that he wouldn't come. Setsuna was sure he'd catch an earful because of his position once home, but that little 'no' in particular was going to be brought up often. But that was the price he'd have to pay for calling him, when he knew full well what kind of person Lockon was.

"J-Just…talk to me…" He muttered, the voice in his head mocking him even more.

"Talk? Okay, but I really think-"

"DAMMIT, I DON'T CARE! _**TALK TO ME!**_"

Another snap, another apology he had to quickly make, and another reason for his chest to tighten up even more. He still hated yelling, but yet he had been doing a lot of it over the last few months. That wasn't the person he really was, and it terrified him to feel like someone else was taking over his body. Of course the people close to him had to wonder what was wrong, but hell, even he didn't know. He might've understood who he was, but that did not mean he had a full understanding of the workings of his own body. It was strange…or maybe it was just downright laughable, and maybe if he was a normal person he would not have been so confused, lying on the bathroom floor, apologizing to his husband.

Putting his phone on speaker, he placed it next to him and closed his eyes. He listened as the older male began reminiscing about the past, telling him about experiences with either just the two of them or with the others. This was what he needed…his mind had been full of so much dread that he couldn't remember things such as that, pleasant things that would make his current pain completely vanish. But…he was still relying on him instead of trying harder. Why…was he so weak?

He heard his husband begin to tell him about the time he'd taught him how to play baseball, and he was so embarrassed that he had not done so beforehand. It was the middle of summer, and the Tigers were down three points from actually winning the game. He didn't know why a bunch of men swinging sticks and throwing balls was such a big deal, nor did he know why his husband was into what was going on. Since the older male was a fifteen year old at the time, he was expected to have some kind of interest. But watching people play a sport that didn't look at all that exciting…that made him question the other's taste level.

After so long (two weeks to be exact) he had to ask just why Lockon enjoyed watching something so tedious, and he was greeted with a blank look followed by 'well, have you ever played?' He freely admitted that it was something he'd never once tried or thought about trying, and his husband's blank look quickly changed into something that could be considered pure horror. What had he said? The youngest was then told that everyone had attempted to play baseball at least once in their life, and the fact that he hadn't needed to be dealt with…immediately. Setsuna watched as he swiftly ran to his closet and pull a few things out, but before any of them could be identified he was pulled up and out of the room.

Once downstairs the youngest found that he wasn't the only casualty of his husband's insanity, since as soon as he came out of the kitchen Lyle was quickly plucked up and dragged out the door with them. He'd learned not to question what the older male did, since most of the time it was just easier to shut up and wait until they became completely stationary. So he allowed himself to be dragged out of the Dylandy's household, sighing a little as he thought about how much he'd grown use to such behavior. It was amazing that anyone could get use to being toted around like some kind of ragdoll, but unpredictably the younger male had and he questioned his own sanity because of it.

Surprisingly or not they had stopped in the field that belonged to the school, and it was clear that the three of them were going to do some kind of physical activity. Finally he took notice of what Lockon was holding; two gloves that looked a little too much like the one's he'd seen those boring people on TV wear, along with the same bat and ball. They…weren't really going to do what he thought they were, right? But yes…they were, and the Dylandy twins spent at least ten minutes telling him that he was supposed to catch the ball instead of letting fly or roll right past him. Why would he catch it? Was he supposed to throw it back? Apparently that was the case, and he soon found out just how bad his throwing arm was.

The ball would always stop half, falling to the ground and rolling the rest of the way. He didn't think much of it, but the twins always gave him pitiful looks because of it. Okay, fine so maybe throwing wasn't his forte, then maybe catching was. Not a chance…half of the time he was either way off from where he needed to be, or he was right under the thing and got himself hit. The sun was indeed a factor, and he knew damn well it was messing with him. Setsuna quickly told them that catching just wasn't working for him, and he had the bruises to prove it. They too agreed, and seeing that the two practically freaked out every time he was hit of course they weren't going to continue.

Batting was…awkward, since he apparently wasn't holding it correctly in the slightest. It took him forever to figure out what that the wooden object wasn't supposed to be held right in front of him, nor was it supposed to be held down against the ground. The frustration must have been easily noticed on his face, because his husband had walked over and stood behind him. The youngest couldn't help but tense up, since his instincts told him that he was going to be hugged since it was the only time the other walked behind him. But that tension was not necessary (maybe) once he felt his hand take his, fixing them and bringing the bat closer to his body. They were close, this was undeniable, and he really did start to feel a little uncomfortable.

The older male told him that he wasn't going to do anything perverted to him, and it really didn't have sooth the nervousness he felt (it actually made it worse). Once he felt his body being moved he heard the other begin to tell him that 'this is the how you swing' and he watched as his husband moved his hands from side to side. After a while he had to ask if playing such a game was easy, then why did those Tiger guys always seem to lose? And if they lost so much, why did Lockon like them?

That comment apparently caused quite the awkward silence to fill the air, and it was clear that he had said too much. However his husband just laughed a little, asking if winning was something that mattered a lot to him. Setsuna just shook his head, admitting that it was a good thing when people won but it didn't really matter to him. He received a loud 'exactly!' from the older male, who told him that even if a team didn't win people loved them because they were a representing all of Osaka and sometimes that was enough for most. The youngest had to let that sink in a little…because 'all of Osaka' also included him. So…did that mean that Tigers team was playing for him also? A bunch of people he didn't even know were trying their best, playing a game they obviously weren't the greatest at but still continued on regardless.

Interesting…he still hadn't gotten the hang of the game by the time the three decided to go back home, which was why the next day he asked if they could once again go out to the field. The two agreed, of course. They spend a good portion of the summer playing baseball, and from time to time the others were join them (he found out that the second youngest was just as bad at the game as he was). But something came out of those days of 'practice sessions', and it was an understanding for how those Tiger people played. The game wasn't easy, he'd learned this, but the Tigers played because it made people happy and that feeling was probably one of the best out there.

It was a memory that always stuck with him, along with the many others Lockon told him. He did look back on such things, but he hadn't had the time to lately. His mind was filled with so much that certain thing couldn't be at the top at his priority list anymore, and he in no way linked that to the pain that was slowly starting to lessen. His breathing was finally starting to slow down, making it so he no longer had to pant like a winded dog. Looking around he found that his vision was clean, the doubles and blurriness he originally saw of the world around him now replaced with the normal, stationary view. He could move now, this fact found out as he pushed himself in a sitting position he and sat back against the cool metal behind him.

The youngest let out a sigh of relife since his body had regained itself and was now working. Putting his hand up he saw that he was still shaking, but it wasn't as bad as before. This was good enough…where he was right now was fine, and he thought that it was enough so he could leave the boys bathroom. Taking a quick look down, the younger male heard Lockon begin to call out to him once more, and seeing that the panic stricken breathing could no longer be heard he understood. Picking up his cell, he reassured him that the problem was under control. His husband let out a small 'are you sure?', and he merely said yes and that was that. Setsuna was about to hang up, to tell the person on the other line goodbye…but he remembered something _**very**_ important. It was worth asking since he was sure he couldn't deal with it later on.

"Lockon…please don't talk about this…"

"But-"

"Neil…_please_…"

"…Fine…I wont say a word."

That's all he wanted.

* * *

"I'm going to wash clothes, so I'll be right back-"

"Wait, I'll do it."

And they were still playing the denial game. Taking the basket of clothes, he gave his wife a reassuring smile before leaving the room…and as soon as that door closed behind him that smile quickly faded. It had been a week since he received the text message from the younger male, since he'd heard what could only be describe as pure pain in the other's voice. It had completely taken him by surprise, and it pained him so much that he couldn't _really _be there for him.

That week was not the best, so it ended with that nasty little bang didn't help a thing and probably should not have surprised him. Neil _**hated**_ high school exam week, hated it with such a passion that he couldn't really describe it. Not only did he loathe the week because he had to take them years ago, but because his wife put both him and his brother so low on his priority list that the two of them couldn't believe it…sort of. Of course they knew how the younger male acted about studying, but he just took it to a level that made the habit more extreme. The youngest would freely admit that he had a little bit of an attention problem, and it had nothing to do with his home life.

Really he was like a dog that just wanted to seek the attention of the person they loved, and his brother was no exception to this. Setsuna was just…someone they couldn't help but hug, and kiss, or just be around. Though their affections had changed slightly over the years, Neil not hugging him as tightly or dragging him around every which way, they still couldn't keep their hands off of him. Which was why he was so dishearten whenever high school exams would come up, because it basically meant hands off until the following week…which wasn't essentially a bad thing.

Break was always entertaining, since school was out and his wife became more available. There was no way the youngest could escape such availability, since that meant spacing out the homework that was given to him by his teachers…and Setsuna _always_ did all his homework on the first day of break. Housework didn't need to done everyday, laundry didn't need to be washed every time someone took something off, and the only consistent thing that had to be done was cooking. Just because one entered high school did not mean fun became a luxury, but apparently that's what the youngest thought. He wasn't really like that when younger, that 'work hard' attitude was still there but it wasn't so bad that he just flat out refused to do anything with anyone.

Back then his wife hadn't experienced a lot of things any normal kid his age had, and maybe that's why he's become such a workaholic…he thought he'd seen it all. But he hadn't, hell, all six of them hadn't! They'd never even left the village before, though to be fair the youngest had lived outside of Japan for some time before moving. However, he didn't talk about it…so as far as he was concerned that place no longer had any kind of connection to him. So the six of them were in the same boat…Neil knew it would change over time, since it _needed_ to happen. It was a natural thing for people to move away from familiar surroundings, wanting to start a clean slate somewhere else. The six of them were going to move…just where? He didn't know, but he was sure they'd all keep in touch.

The youngest was still a kid, and still needed to pace himself instead of getting it all out there at once. This included housework, which Neil and his brother took care of for the entire week of high school exams…even though they were still very much tired from their own exams. It was the first year of his collage life where he had to attended everyday to take a test! The oldest didn't even notice he had to until a week before the actual exam, to which both he and Lyle were completely horrified. So they had to cram…three times as hard. Cramming was fine, but having to put five classes worth of information, collage information might he add, in their head in such a short time was insane.

The fact that they actually could do it was a miracle…however…that miracle came with a price. The two of them were exhausted, so much so they would sleep through half of the test, wake up, and rush through everything. That's was how they spend their exam week, and all they could do once home was eat a little something then take a long nap. Setsuna told them cramming would get the best of them sooner or later, but he told him it wasn't the cramming that was the problem but how many tests they actually had to cram for. He didn't believe him (obviously), but the oldest didn't feel like elaborating so he just fell asleep.

It was basically how he spent the weekend, asleep in Setsuna's lap as he cram- er, reviewed for his own exams. Sometimes he'd wake up and find him _still_ working, and if he asked him anything he'd just block him out. It was a little annoying, but he knew how seriously the youngest took his exams (maybe a little serious), so he just left him alone.

But…maybe that was the problem. He was ignoring way too much, the strange behavior the younger male had been showing during that last few months had been…disturbing. At first he thought it was nothing more then him acting cranky after sleeping in for two days, but it was far from it. He seemed like a completely different person, and it was obvious that it had something to do with his upcoming exams. It had to be more then stress, because the snapping, the blank looks, and the random outburst had to be point to a much bigger problem. What it was, he didn't know at the time, but the wheels started turning the Friday he received quite the unsettling phone call from the younger male.

Since it was the last day before break started, the teachers basically said 'to hell with it' and scrapped whatever unless lesson plan they were supposed to teach. That meant the students were free to do pretty much anything they wanted, and when given that option he always had to catch a few Z's. He'd already slept through most of his classes, so why would the last one be any different? His brother was completely knocked out, and he was sure the only thing that could wake him was the ringing of the school bell.

_Everyone_ woke up when that final bell rang, and really it was just that instinct built up after so many years of schooling. Anyone could've been doing anything, playing cards, talking with other, actually trying to study, but when that bell ran everything was dropped and walk (or rather ran) out the door. That bell was the signal that freedom was once again their, and they weren't going to waste a single second when leaving. Luckily for the two of them they actually lived in the southern town, but as always Neil did braved the packed bus so he could pick up his wife. There was just something about seeing him walk up to the bus stop that brought back memories of when the younger male would wait for him when younger.

The school in the village let out ten minutes before high school did, and according to Tieria the youngest would _literally_ run to the bus stop once they were let out. It was nice to know that he cared enough to wait for them, though he always said that he was just 'making sure the two of them were actually coming back', which either was a bad excuse for waiting or he was trying to say something else. But nevertheless he was always glad to see him, and it made thanking him for lunch much quicker. Setsuna _loved_ compliments, and every time he received one he would blush furiously back then. He'd try to hide it, but fail in the process which only made him look cuter.

Just when he was about nod off, Neil felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and of course it startled him. It was strange…he kept it one since just incase he received a call, but didn't actually think he get on during school hours. He really didn't think much of it, probably the youngest telling him to pick something up from the grocery store before coming to see him. Yawning a little, he removed the small device from his side pocket…and was sure all the color drained from his face. _Tasukete_…that's what the message said, and he was trying his best not to panic too much. He knew for a fact that the other wasn't the type to pull pranks of any kind, and _'tasukete' _was not something one types accidently. What if…no, he wasn't going to jump to conclusions just yet even if his mind really wanted to.

Before doing anything else, he quickly clicked on the 'news' icon that was located in the internet section of his phone. Scrolling down through the articles, he found nothing that indicated some kind of horrific event had or was currently taking place over at Setsuna's school. So if it wasn't news nothing, did that mean it was a…personal problem? Now _**that**_ scared him…His wife didn't come to him when it came to personal affairs, Neil usually had to be the one to bring them up if he suspected anything then confront the other about them. The younger male always kept things to himself; no matter how big or small the problem seemed he refused to speak to anyone about them, locking them away and acting as if nothing was wrong…even if it was obvious.

He wasn't burdening anyone if he told, because the longer he withheld information the more things were just going to pile up on him. However, no matter how many times the older male told him that it was 'okay to talk to him' it just didn't seem to take. The workings of that head of his was still a mystery to the youngest, just why he thought the things he did and believed he was helping someone else in the process. His wife was still complicated, and that was probably something that would never leave even as they continued to age. It was a fact that he'd accepted and one that didn't bother him at all; if he really was a complex being, then didn't that mean there was more to find out about him? That didn't seem like a bad thing.

Getting up he made his way out the door, knowing that if the call he was going to make was indeed a personal one, he needed to find some kind of private area to talk. The hallway could've worked, but it was easy for anyone to just walk by when he was talking. The bathroom? Nah…it echoed far too much for his liking in there, and people could still walk in if they wished (locking the door just seemed silly). Then maybe the roof…no one ever went up there, and since he was on the third floor it just made the climb easier. So Neil walked (well…ran) down the hall, taking a sharp turn around the corner as he nearly crashed into a group of people. The older male was in a hurry, and causing an accident would've just slowed him down. He wouldn't let that happen…not when Setsuna was clearly in some kind of distress.

Upon reaching the right door, he flung it open and proceeded to make his way up the few flights of stairs. Had he actually been on the first floor the walk would've been hell, but he was thankful his last class was located on a floor closer to the roof. He had taken into account that it was probably freezing outside, seeing that it _was_ the first week in December after all. He just hoped that it had warmed up enough where he could stay out there for at least a few minutes, since he was in no sure just how long the phone call he needed to make was going to be. The oldest felt very much scared as he reached the top of the stairs, since this would be the first time his wife had actually asked for help.

But that fright left his body for a few second as he opened the roof door, quickly closing it as he rubbed his arms. It was still freezing! Great, so the roof idea was out so he just decided to stand against the wall next to it. Taking out his phone once more, he re-opened the massage and pressed the 'enter' button. Placing it against his ear the sound of ringing filling his head, it being the only sounded that he could hear. The realization that the situation could have been much worse then he expected began to set it, and he could help but let that panic inside of him out.

If Setsuna felt that there was problem that couldn't be taken care of by himself, just how bad did that make it? A personal problem for the younger male was never something light, and it was for that reason that his mind automatic went over into 'something horrible has happened' mode. He hated that mode, he hated that mode, he _**hated**_ that mode. Not only did he think that the absolute worst had befallen his beloved wife, but his mind refused to have any kind of logic behind it's thinking until he head the other's voice. Neil needed to know that there was life on the other end of that line, and the constant ringing only made the knot in his stomach tighten.

'_Please pick up' _was what he muttered over and over again, because there were only so many rings a phone went through before it went to voicemail. He didn't want it leave a horrible, over the top and panicky message, nor did he want call him again because if he did that nasty sinking feeling was only going to increase. God, he just wanted him to pick up…Another ring, another ring, another ring, on and on until the last one rang throughout the empty stairwell…

And fortunately the younger male picked up. He quickly called out to him, asking if something had happened. Instead some kind of coherent speech, he was greeted with hard panting and what sounded like words trying to be formed. That definitely wasn't good. He listened for something that resembled an 'I need help', some kind of explanation that indicated what the problem was so he could try to formulate some kind of way to fix it…even if it was over the phone. However, it wasn't until he heard his real name whimpered by the younger male that he knew it was not _that_ kind of situation. Neil was going to let the other get something out, but it was clean that there was confusion on his wife's side and that he needed to be the one to initiate the conversation.

All he wanted to know of if he was alright, and when told that he wasn't Neil knew that he himself needed to _calm the hell down_. As much as he wanted overact and say something stupid, he knew doing that was not going to help the situation at all. The oldest was nineteen, and reacting in such a way when there was an actual problem was not the most mature thing to do. Taking a deep sigh, the older male began to tell him that he was going to come and pick him up. That apparently was not an option, since the loud 'NO!' that echoed throughout the speaker told him so. No…no? Why didn't he want to be picked up? This was what he asked him as his hands began to shake, it having nothing to do with the cold that seeped out of the door near him.

He heard Setsuna's response, but did not believe it for a second. Why…didn't he want such a thing? The bus ride wasn't that long and once he arrived at the school they could've gone straight home, so…what was wrong? But he shut his mouth, not questioning his wife any further about the topic. Instead of physically getting him, the younger male wanted him to simply talk. Talk…he didn't want to come home right away, but talking to him was fine? But he didn't lose himself, only agreeing but also adding that he probably should've something more…or at least he tried to tell him.

The older male was treated to something he'd heard one too many times, something that he should've paid more attention to. Over the last few months his wife snapped at any and everything, as if his fuse had shorten to the point where talking to him was hazardous. Irritable was what he wanted to say, what he wanted to use as an excuse for his wife's behavior. But he couldn't…he had been a horrible husband, ignoring things that shouldn't have been and chalking it up to the younger male just working hard. Such a childish thing to do…if he hadn't have played it stupid the problem might not have been so bad.

But at that moment he couldn't scold himself, doing what he was asked instead and talking to the other. At first he didn't know what the hell he wanted to hear from him, since 'talk to me' was such a broad thing to say to someone. However…he knew just what to say once he thought about it. So he began to speak about the times where the two of them had fun, talked about the days where he taught him something new and the younger male loving it in the process. Those were the important events in their lives, where the two of them just strengthened the bond they was already there.

That bond…it meant a lot to him, and he wasn't going to relinquish it for the world. And even as he thought that while speaking to the other, he wanted to know if his wife felt the same. Neil _knew_ he loved him, but wanted to know why he _always_ kept such big problems from him. Secrets were fine, but ones that distorted his personality weren't. If whatever he was hiding was causing him to practically break down, making it so his personality was overshadowed by something that obviously wasn't him…he needed to let something out.

Neil wanted nothing more then bring up his concerns to him while waiting at the bus stop, but since he said he wouldn't over the phone he kept his mouth shut. He really wanted to break that promise, but when he saw the younger male walk up to the bus stop he felt his heart drop a little. Setsuna looked…tired, but not 'sleepy' tired. It was like his entire being had been exhausted to the point where it seemed like he was going to pass out, and stressing him out further was not what the oldest wanted to do. So the two just took the bus back to the southern town, went to their apartment, and all the while didn't say a word to the other. However, even as they remained silent his wife clung to him tightly, arms wrapped around his as he (tried to) relax against him.

And they stayed connected for the rest of the day. The two did pretty much nothing upon reaching their apartment, his wife laying out his futon and falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. It wasn't until the next day that things tried to get back to normal…but of course, they didn't. Neil wasn't even aware that he'd fallen asleep until he'd awakened the next morning, his wife in the small kitchen cooking something. He was going to give him a 'good morning', trying to start off the day on a good foot…but the oldest stopped himself. Setsuna looked…distant as he stood there, staring down at the pan he was using. Getting up the older male stood behind him, hesitantly raising his hand and placing it on his shoulder. Setsuna didn't jump, didn't tense up, he only looked over his shoulder and gave him that all too familiar poker face of his. Damn…so he was going to keep up the 'don't talk about it' act, which was much easier said then done.

It was a _**very **_hard week for him, mainly because his wife was still not acting like himself but pretending like nothing was wrong. If anything he became worse then before, his behavior becoming more concerning. One of the more poignant (and obvious) things he noticed was how much his wife's culinary skills had gone down the drain, and it was much more then just forgetting to a little salt or pepper. He burned damn near everything…and Setsuna had never once burned anything he fixed until that week. The first time he himself was the first to notice, the small spoonful of stew tasting charred beyond belief, but Lyle was the one to actually comment on it. He didn't out rightly say 'this is burnt!' instead politely asking if the younger male had overcooked anything.

The youngest still didn't take it well. He dropped the spoon he was using, hand shaking ever so slightly. Excusing himself from the table, the younger male quickly ran into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him. There was a short silence followed by a muffled noise from the other side of the door, and because his worried self got the better of him Neil slid over to it. The murmuring sound he heard was his wife repeating 'I'm sorry' over and over again, it becoming so heart wrenching that he had to back up. Why was he…taking it so hard? Now the oldest couldn't very well scold his brother, since he had done nothing wrong. However, he did tell him to not point out things like that in the future, and he quickly nodded in agreement.

Another thing he noticed was the change in his sleep pattern; he was getting enough, so that wasn't the problem, it was what he was doing _once asleep_ that bothered him. In the past once the younger male was out, he was out, no ifs, ands, or buts. Neil always waited for him to fully fall asleep before he did, it just being a habit he couldn't break nor did he want to. It wasn't until that week that he was awakened in the middle of the night by something moving against him, and since there wasn't anything in the room that had the ability to move on it's own (other then the fish of course) so it had to be his wife. He was moving around in his sleep, not thrashing about, but moving enough to the point where it woke him up. The oldest watch him, watched as he moved closer to him and shook, calling out his name in muffled whimpers.

It was another hard thing for him to watch, and that's all he really could do…watch. He didn't dare wake him, in fear that he might do something to harm the two of them. And the week just continued on like that; there were other things, like the constant zoning out he did or the way his exhaustion just never seemed to leave him, but Neil just _tried_ to ignore it. Stress was a major factor in the younger male's behavior, this was undeniable, so he tried to lighten the load by taking on all (or most) of the things Setsuna usually did. Cleaning the apartment, shopping for groceries, doing the laundry, and cooking (the fact that he was allowed to was scary) were all the things he took off the hands of his wife. It was physically draining trying to smile all the time, putting up his usual sunny disputation when inside he felt like a complete failure.

The oldest had failed him…after so many years he didn't know how to approach the other, didn't know just what the right way to make the other tell him what was ailing him was. He just wanted the younger male to talk to him…it wasn't like he was his parent and would punish him if he did something wrong, no, he was his husband who would listen and try his hardest to make things right. Why didn't he understand that…? It wasn't a trust issue, Setsuna had made it very clear that he was the person he trusted the most. It was just…a personal issue, and the oldest knew that personal issues were a very delicate thing when it came to the youngest.

"What am I going to do with you…?" He muttered to himself, making his down to the basement as he did so. There were only two options when it came to washing clothes; either they were taken to the Laundromat a few blocks away, or down to the basement where both a washing machine and dryer were located. What the weather was like determined just which method they'd go with, if the it was nice out they'd leave but if it was raining or freezing (like it currently was) they stayed in. It was the whole 'carrying a basket full of clean clothes through snow and rain' thing that just didn't seem right, so the two of them were thankful their landlord and graciously provided such a luxury for her tenets.

If the Laundromat route was taken, the two of them always went together. It was rather amusing when the younger male would continuously reminded to not touch his unmentionables, and he couldn't help but joking say that 'he would leave panties alone'. Obviously he was hit because of it, though he wasn't quite sure how he'd react if a pair of panties in their dirty clothes basket (he would seriously have to questions just why the other had them). But they couldn't go back to that until the spring, or at least until the sun actually decided to stop being lazy and heat everything up just a little.

Once in the basement he still could not get his thoughts together, his wife forever staying on his mind (well…he was always there, but the topic was different). Even as he removed the dirty clothes from the basket and placed them in the machine, picking up one of the many bottles of detergent from the shelf above, he couldn't form a thought that seemed reasonable. Setsuna was the kind of person that would block out anything he didn't like, so talking to him would be by far the greatest hassle. Neil couldn't put himself in anymore denial, because he promised the other he'd stop his suffering when they were younger. Even if the statement sounded cheesy (which it did), it was just another way of say he'd make sure the other was happy…and it was clear that he wasn't happy.

"_Penny for your thoughts?_" He heard in English, making his direct his attention to the door. It was his landlord. She wore he usual cheerful expression as she stood near the opening, though he really hadn't understood what she had said (English wasn't his best subject).

"Huh?" Neil said, obviously confused. Sumeragi just shook her head, saying that it meant 'what was on his mind' and he couldn't help but give off a little 'oh'. He merely said that there wasn't anything to worry about, to which she just gave off a small chuckle and gestured downward with her finger. Looking down he could clearly see why she had asked him what was going on in his head, and really, he too would have to question what his thought process was at the moment.

The oldest was pouring detergent into the washing machine…while the top of the bottle was still on. It would definitely explain why there was a lack of weight change as he tilted it. Rubbing the back of his head, he admitted defeat, knowing that the woman near him was just like his mother. The both of them always noticed when something was off, and always knew when it was time to step in. So that meant she was there with a purpose, and if the Neil didn't fess up to something he'd just be wasting her time. However…when it came to telling people his issues he was almost as stubborn about it then his wife.

It was just one of those 'I can do it myself' things, and he was sure it came with age. He was open about a lot of things, but he wasn't sure of he could be open about the problems he faced once out of the public eye. The oldest wasn't trying to portray himself as perfect, that would be absurd, he was just trying to lessen the amount of anxiety in both his and the younger male's life. If everyone knew that his wife's mental state was not at its best, they would obviously think poorly of him. Neil didn't want that…he knew Setsuna was a good person, and didn't need to be ridiculed so harshly by anyone anymore.

But this wasn't just _anyone_. This person was their 'home away from home mother', since she did genuinely care about their well being. Hell, she'd even told them this! So why shouldn't he talk to her? If she was willing to hear him out then he should probably give her a chance, since advice was something he was always in need of if it dealt with his wife.

Sucking it up he leaned back against the machine, really hoping that some kind of solution would come from their talk. The oldest began to tell her about how off Setsuna was acting, about how he would pretend that there wasn't a problem at all. He told her that he was at a bit of a loss as to how he should talk to him, since he didn't want him to get upset or cause himself more anxiety. The oldest even told the older woman about how Setsuna had broken down at school, calling him during school hours sounding completely shaken and scared. As far as he was concerned the more he told her, the better idea she'd get of just what the problem was.

It really felt like he was venting, and it was surprisingly just how much he was holding back. Neil felt…good getting it all out there, like he was telling a secret he'd been holding back for years. Once done he crossed his arms a little and sighed, which was a clear sign of relief but was also one that hinted at his slight disappointment with everything. The older woman crossed her right arm along her abdomen, left elbow resting against it as her index finger tapped against her cheek. Was that think mode? If it was it didn't last very long, about three minutes at most before her hands were on her hip. Yeah, the oldest recognized that pose…he was about to get himself lectured.

"The answer is simple: you two need to get laid."

"WHAT?"

Ah yes…just because she was the motherly type, did not mean her sense of humor had died. If anything it was closer to his, which was probably another reason they got along so well. But he couldn't help but blush, Sumeragi laughing because the look on his face was probably _priceless_. She was still young after all (or at least she looked it), so of course she was going to pick with her tenants from time to time. The older woman apologized, saying that the mood needed to be lightened since it became so heavy when he spoke.

She told him that the problem with the whole situation was how he went about it; instead of waiting for his wife to bring the issue up, _Neil_ needed to be the one to do so. Sumeragi added that the longer the problem went untouched the longer the younger male would be miserable, because whatever he was feeling would just fester and become much bigger then it should have. Well…that was true. But he couldn't help but tell her that he didn't like upsetting Setsuna…to which he was hit in the back of the head.

He was quickly told that how he was perceived by his wife was important, but this was not one of the times were it wasn't. If he disliked him for a few days, so be it, just as long as there was some kind of positive outcome in the long run. That seemed…a little hard to him. The oldest really did want nothing more then to keep his wife in a content mood, but he didn't want to push him when it came to dealing with anything serious since he knew the other could _really_ hold a grudge. Displeasing him was something he disliked with a passion, but behaving like that conflicted with helping him. So which did he choose? Staying quite and continue watching his mental state deteriorate, or actually doing something and pissing him off?

Neil chose the latter. Bowing a little he thanked her for the advice, adding that his (none existent) sex life was none of her business. The older woman just giggled, saying that 'the walls weren't _that_ thick, so we'll see' which only made him blush again. Shaking his head a little the oldest watch as she left, thankful that someone like that was around. He couldn't really talk to his mother about any issues that dealt with Setsuna, mainly because that conversation would go directly to the younger male's own mother and it would just lead to a big mess he hadn't intended to start. They were mothers for goodness sake! Of course when it came to the well being on their sons, they would overact at the slightest mention that something was wrong.

Going back to the task almost forgotten, his mind wandered over to what he'd say to his wife as he placed garment after garment in the washing machine. It was probably best to take it slow, so the usual 'we need to talk' or 'do you have a minute?' might not have been the best approach. Hinting was out of the question, because hinting meant dragging out something that didn't need to be. This needed to be a direct conversation between the two of them, and that meant forcing Setsuna to listen to him. As much as he loved the other, deeply cared about him, he _**hated**_ it when he'd block him out. Neil was pretty sure he had 'selective hearing', since something's seemed to take while others didn't. The oldest knew this would be one of the times it wouldn't.

After fully lathered up and rinsed, he placed the dampened clothes in the dryer and sat on top of it. As the clunky machine began to gently toss and turn everything, he felt himself question what he wanted to do and the confrontation that was to come. It was his wife's heath on the line, and if that wasn't enough motivation to cast aside any and all doubts he had, he wasn't sure what could. That's right…this was more then making someone feel better, it was about getting them to a point where they were stable enough to function properly once again.

The person currently on the second floor was not the same one from before, his personality so distorted by whatever was going in that head of his that he was almost unrecognizable. He wanted his wife back, the one that blushed so heavily when something he found embarrassing was said, the very same one that had habits that could easily be described as 'odd' but really were just quirks the were actually kind of cute. The person he'd taken such a liking to needed rescuing, something he hadn't done since the two of them were young. Even in maturity some things just never changed, because the youngest was still that stubborn little kid he'd grown up with…and it was the biggest challenge he'd have to face.

But it was a challenge he would accept nonetheless.

Once a loud 'buzz' came from the stationary machine below him, he hopped down and opened the round glass door and began to remove the now very dry clothes. Instead of throwing them all back in the basket like he originally did once he moved into the apartment, something he was informed he _**should not**_ do by the youngest, he began to fold them. The pants were first since they went in the basket before everything else, because they took up the most room. Next were the shirts and on top of those when the socks, undergarments and anything else. Since the basket was big enough to sit clothes side by side one another, he made it so he had one pile while his wife had another.

It was just another thing he had to learn once he moved away from home, and really, it wasn't all that bad. Fending for ones self wasn't hard, the fact that the person you turned to whenever something went wrong was the difficult part. No longer having parental advisory seemed fun at first, but soon the reality set in that it was growing up time and those people could no longer hold his or his brother's hand. If they messed up, it was on their hands and no one else's. Neil wasn't sure how the younger male felt about leaving home so early, though he did notice that he acted just _a little_ distant the first few days after he moved in. However, seeing that it was officially the first time they'd been in the same enclosed space with no one around, he could understand his nervousness.

Hell, even he was nervous too. He couldn't even count the number of times they'd slept together when younger, but for some reason those first few days just felt down right awkward. The oldest wasn't sure just why, maybe it had something to do with the unfamiliar surrounds but whatever it was it didn't last too long (at least for him). It took about three weeks for everything to get back to normal, his usual clingy self coming back and practically latching onto the younger male. He just felt more comfortable the closer he was to him, and he was sure his wife felt the same…though of course he'd never admit it.

Picking up the basket Neil made his way back up the stairs, felling a little more confident about the talk that needed to happen. It would be hard on the both of them, that was for sure, but he wasn't just going to sit by and watch anymore. After making it to the second floor, he had to placed the (heavy) basket under one arm as he shuffled through his pocket to reach his key. The older male could've put the object down, but that would do nothing but waste precious time. It wasn't like there was some kind of timer ticking away that told him he only had so long to talk to the other, the oldest just wanted to get it out of the way as quickly as possible. That wasn't asking too much, was it?

Upon hearing the recognizable 'click' he held the basket with both hands, pushing the door open with his back as he walked in. Setsuna was sitting at the table, head down and looking as if he was asleep. Placing the heavy load he carried down, he closed the door, locking it before going over and sitting next to him. The younger male was probably out of it, since that was pretty much how he'd been acting since the phone call. Hesitantly reaching over he gently placed his hand in top of his wife's head, calling his name so that it was loud enough to be heard but not enough to wake him if asleep. The last thing he wanted to do was wake him up, because irritable Setsuna was even worse then a stubborn Setsuna to talk to.

Luckily he wasn't asleep, the younger male turning his head up from his crossed arms to look at him with that now broken poker face. Oh yes…it was broken. This week had worn it down to the point where it was about to show damn near everything, and seeing how well the youngest had hid his emotions in the past it was a little scary if all of them just spilled forward at once. He asked if everything was taking care of, 'everything' being laundry to which Neil just nodded. He looked at from for a moment, as if he was thinking something, but then just gave him a 'good' as if the thought didn't matter at all.

Before anything else could be said by the other, the older male told him that he wanted to talk about what had gone on last Friday. Clearly that grabbed his attention, his expression changing from semi-blank to deeply horrified. Yeah, the hard part was about to begin.

"…I don't want to talk about that…and I asked you not to bring it up…" The youngest said, sitting up and looking away.

"I know," Neil started, removing his hand from his head and wrapped his arm around his waist, "But I think, no…I know we have to talk about it because-"

"I don't _**want**_ to talk about it…" He growled out. There was the stubbornness…the difficulty level just skyrocketed, and from then on if he didn't persuade his wife to think differently the answer would continuously be some variation of 'no'. He tried to tell the youngest that he just wanted him to hear him out, but again all he received was an 'I don't want to'. Pulling him a little closer, the older male started to say something but was pushed away roughly before the words could even leave his lips.

He quickly told him that he did not want the older male's hands anywhere on him, and Neil couldn't help but feel a small pang of hurt hit his chest. This was the price he had to pay for confronting his wife, and it was a price he wasn't sure he wanted to pay anyone now that he had experienced it. Being hated for trying to help was a hard thing, and even though Sumeragi had said how he was perceived by the other did not matter at this point…it was going to take a lot for him to just ignore it. It was really breaking a tendency he'd developed so many years ago, but that didn't necessarily mean it couldn't be fixed.

Yeah, that was right…just because he forced the younger male to listen to him this once, didn't meant he had to make him do it again! But that sounded horrible…if anything it just made it seem like he was a weak person who hated confrontation. The oldest had gone through way too much to be considered weak, soft maybe, but not weak. As for the confrontation part…he hated verbally fighting with anyone, though he could perform such an act very well, he just didn't like to. Arguing with Setsuna was something he'd never done, either just accepting what the other had said or suggesting another route should be taken. And that seemed to be the problem…he wasn't assertive enough with the younger male, because he'd probably let him get away with murder if the other said he didn't want to talk about it.

Now of course this did not mean he had to rule over him like some kind of controlling spouse, which would be just wrong. It just meant he needed to stop being so passive when it came to such serious issues, and he remembered the promise he made to himself the first time he tried to take care the younger male when sick. Neil said he'd never let the other get him to the point where he questioned so much about himself, but he had already broken that promise numerous times. It was time to prove that the things he told himself back then were not just words…

Taking his hands he placed them on the younger male's shoulders, grip not enough to hurt but enough so that he looked at him directly. There was a small struggled from his wife, him saying that he 'already told him to not touch him', but the struggle came to a halt once the oldest gave him a firm 'stop'. The horror on his face was still very much there, but a look of sheer surprise also accompanied it. Neil understood that look, since he in the past would never go through such great lengths to get him to do anything. It was kind of sad really…Taking a deep breath then letting it out slowly, he began to let everything he'd been holding back out and he wasn't sure just how the younger male was going to take it.

"Setsuna…" He started, tone as serious as he could possible make it, "I'm really worried about you, hell, we're all worried about you. The way you're acting now is scaring everyone, so I'm _begging _you to talk to me. If you don't I really feel like I can't help you at all…and if I can't help you then it's out of my hands, and if it's out of my hands then I'll hire someone for you to talk to…You're my wife and I really don't want to do that to you, but I'm out of options at this point…"

And that was that…the oldest had said what he needed to, gotten it out in the open so he didn't have it buried inside of him anymore. Setsuna blankly looked at him, obviously processing what had been said. That was a good thing; having the youngest actually think about something he had said, something that had been concerning him for such a long time, made him feel better. It was like a weight had been lifted off of him, and when he saw his wife open his mouth a slight anticipation started to form.

"…You…think I'm crazy…"

Wait, what? That's what he asked himself as he saw the younger male glare at him. Where…had he gotten that idea from? With confusion written all over his face, Neil was pushed away once more and he _really_ felt it this time. He watched as the younger male swiftly got up, making his way over to the closet and roughly flinging it open. He didn't say a word as his wife pulled out a jacket, but did try to stop him as he went for the door. Pulling him back by the hand, the oldest quickly told him that he had completely misunderstood him. There was no way in hell he thought he was crazy, and upon telling him this he received a loud 'LIAR!' from him.

"Setsuna, I'm not lying! I would never think of you like that-"

"SHUT UP! I'm just some stupid kid, and now you want to lock me away in some psyche ward…I get it now…"

"Setsuna-"

Before he could even finish the other pushed him away for a third time and left, slamming the door behind him. Neil stared blankly at it for a few seconds, not believing what had just taken place. This was a scenario he never fathomed, but yet it had happened and he didn't know what he should do. Leaning against the wall near the door, he slid down and ran his fingers through his hair. Never had his wife walked out on him, and what he was feeling could not be put into words. It definitely hurt, that was for damn sure, but there were so many other emotions wrapped up with it that it just didn't seem right to classify it as one thing. Abandonment was another thing he felt, because he was alone in that small apartment without a single sign of life (minus the fish of course).

With only one person inside, the area felt depressing, this was why he and his wife always visited or invited Lyle over. The more people were inside, the better it felt. Maybe it had something to do with how entertaining being around others were, because there wasn't much entertainment in being alone. Neil was the kind of person who liked being around people with energy, and he was thankful that the five people he had the strongest bond with were like that. Yes, this would also include the youngest. There was an energy about him, one that was obviously being held back, that attracted him to the other even more. He wasn't hyper, that word in no way applied to the younger male, but he did have moments where he'd perk up much more then usual.

Setsuna's habits were strange and subtle, and it really took someone who'd been around him for a few years to point them all out. He still had issues when it came to showing off simple emotions in the right way, so if he was happy or sad he hid it from the world. The younger male didn't act like 'normal' people, and it was probably the byproduct of the abuse he faced from others in the past. It was understandable that he wanted to lock away _all_ of his emotions, but he had shown over the year that if he actually did let them out or even a small glimpse they were…beautiful to say the least.

Normal was not something he ever saw his wife as, and it wasn't until he thought back just how the youngest acted in certain situation that his mind clicked. Normal…his reaction to everything was indeed 'normal' and maybe that was a sign. Before saying anything he actually looked as if he was thinking about something, and if the oldest coupled that with his past behavior the commonness of it all slowly began to slip away.

His wife didn't hate him, he just needed space think things over. Obviously he wouldn't say that out loud given the already troubled state he was already in, and the fact that he originally didn't want to talk about the topic also fueled his leaving. It was a breath of fresh air to know that all the other needed was time, and that was something he was happy to give him. Removing his fingers from his hair, he rested the back of his head against the wall; it was nice to know that Setsuna really did listen to him, but the things he said still hurt. But it wasn't his fault…it was just have his body reacted. He was so…complicated at times.

However, all Neil could do at the moment was wait for the appropriate time to pick up the younger male. Thirty minutes was the time he'd give the younger male, and given how much of a cold weather person his wife was it seemed like a sufficient amount of time. It wasn't so much the _cold_ that he liked, but what came with it…snow. He loved the soft, white fluff, so much so that if there was a forecast for it he would sit by the window and wait for it. It was definitely entertaining watching him, because the look of anticipation completely took over his features and made him look like a little kid waiting for Santa. It was one of the few times where he unconsciously (or at least he thought it was) allowed himself to act less adult-like and more like the kid he was.

But really…all six of them were children. Even if they were well on their way to being in the real world, that did not mean they were adults. To him adulthood came with experience, not necessarily with age, and they hadn't really gone through enough in the real world to be considered such thing. No, the six of them needed to go through much more if they ever wanted to walk down that path. However, no one was rushing them since ones childhood was an important factor when it came to how someone developments. The oldest tried on a daily basis to try and make his wife's day as fun filled as possible, because he thought the other deserved that much after what he had gone through in the past.

The oldest didn't watch the clock, knowing that it would only slow time and make him anxious. So instead he closed his eyes, figuring that a short nap was the best way to make things fly by. He'd done it on a few occasions, just flat out fall asleep and hope he woke up around the time needed (and seeing that he was already tired it did help). For him sleep was…a peaceful thing. It served many purposes, such as replenishing his energy, allowing him to get closer to his wife, and helping him relax. Neil liked sleep quite a bit, but that did _not_ mean he was lazy. He did do a great deal when awake, even if it appeared otherwise. Being with his wife was a twenty-four hour job; no…it was definitely a privilege. Making and keeping him happy took a lot, but it was something he was more then willing to do.

There was, however, a slight problem with him just falling asleep on the spot; his internal clock was royally screwed whenever he did something like that, so when he woke up and saw that it was a whole hour later he couldn't help but curse and quickly get up. Running over to the closet he removed his coat, wanting to scold himself but deciding to put it off till later. Dammit, how could he forget? He should've at least set the alarm on his phone!

But all Neil could do now was throw his coat on and race out the room, trying his best to run down the stairs without falling. Upon making to the first floor he slipped on his shoes, hoping it wasn't too cold outside since he himself wasn't really a winter/fall person. The oldest didn't necessarily hate the cold, his true reasoning behind it might've sounded slightly perverted but it was honestly how he felt. Temperature drops meant more clothing for his wife, while on the other hand temperature spikes meant less coverage because, well, when it was hot he needed to be comfortable. He _liked_ the younger male with fewer clothes, since it meant more skin showing and that was something he wasn't 'supposed' to be looking at.

He'd never _really_ looked at his body before, which was probably why he was so desperate to catch just a glimpse. It was obvious that the oldest was physically attracted to his wife, because didn't that go along with being in a relationship? He wanted to touch him much more then he usually did, to run his fingers up and down that soft skin of his and- too much, too much, too much, and WAY too soon.

Shaking his head a little, he tried to rid himself of the dirty images that were running wild in his mind. Could you really blame him? Just as he was about to open the front door he stopped himself, rethinking just where he was about to do. The first thing that popped into was to go directly to the bus stop, riding it all the way to the northern town where he'd head over to their hideaway. But that would not be the case this time…his wife left to 'think', not forget about his troubles and relax. That's what the place was to the other, a haven where he could just put everything behind him for the time he was there. So where would he go?

Simple…the park. The younger male had called himself a child, something he rarely said, and whenever he did such a thing he took himself to where he thought 'children' belonged. The older male discovered this fact years ago, when Hallelujah apparently said something that hit his wife deep. He didn't remember what was said, but it was harsh enough to make the younger male just get up and leave. He did venture after him, but only until much later, since his brother had to hold him back from attacking the 'elder' Haptism. After calming himself down, he left to search for his wife. Originally he thought finding him in the village would be that big of a deal, but he soon found it was like trying to finding just one four-leaf clover in a football size field.

Their houses, their backyards, the forest (not too far in), the bus stop, up and down to the usual spot but yet he could not find him. The panic obviously began to set in, thinking that he had gotten himself lost somewhere and was now un-locatable. It wasn't until he ran past the schoolyard that he noticed someone on the swing set, and he almost completely bypassed it because the notion that the younger male had willing put himself in an area he deemed 'childish' just didn't occur to him. And it was a good thing his rational side kicked in, telling him to stop and look over. It _was_ the youngest…he was sitting on one of the swings, head down as he gently swayed back and forth.

Which was exactly the way Neil found him in the nearby park. Really any area with a swing set did the trick, be it a park, schoolyard, or playground. The park just happened to be closer then the other two options, so of course he would've headed there first. The only real difference between that time and time was the height of his wife; in the past his legs couldn't reach the ground, leaving him to the mercy of whatever the seat wanted to do. But now he was older, his legs acted as a way to control how much his body swayed. Just why Setsuna was attracted to such a thing, he didn't know, but whatever the reason was it made it easy for him to be found.

Walking over, the older male took a seat in the empty swing next to him. The silence that hung in the air was expected since he knew his wife would not jump into his arms at first glance (he was not that kind of person). He tried matching the other male's rhythm, swaying to and fro, movement never going so far. He was probably still thinking, taking everything that was said in and letting it process. The youngest really was a smart individual that thought out most of the things he did, and the only problem he saw with that was just how far that intellect of his went. There really was a very fine line between genius and insanity, and it was a line he hoped Setsuna never reached. His sanity was already scarred, so having it shatter would be the end of the world for him.

"…Lockon…" He heard the other mutter, a hand gripping onto the bottom of his jacket. Looking over the oldest could see that his wife was stationary, swinging motion no longer noticeable. Neil knew he wasn't supposed to speak…it wasn't time for that yet. The oldest knew that he needed to sit there, not saying a word until his the youngest had said what he wanted to.

"…I'm sorry…for the things I said and walking out…" The younger male said, glancing over at him. There was another silence that followed, one that held a heaviness that could be seen weighing down on the youngest. He wanted to say more, the oldest could tell that much, but he probably wouldn't until he got his emotions under control. Neil could see the glossy look in his eyes, the one that he was trying to desperately hold back. It was a known fact that Setsuna hated to cry, and would do everything his power to stop him from letting a single tear shed.

But this was not one of those times.

He saw the younger male's grip on one of the chains that held the seat in place tighten, saw the tears begin to roll down his cheeks, and felt his heart sink a little. His wife told him that he had no idea what was going in with him, why he was acting so off or why the incident in the bathroom transpired at all. Admitting that he had noticed just how bad his behavior had become over the last week, he averted his gaze back down to the ground and it was clear that the feeling of shame had taken him over. The realization of how bad he'd really been acting had probably just hit him, and it was a realization that was hard for him to shallow.

Reaching over he gently placed his hand on the top of the younger male's head, silently telling him that it was alright to cry in front of him…and his wife complied with this. He let everything out, bawling probably the hardest the oldest had seen and heard in quite a long time. It hurt to watch this, and even as he stood and proceeded to hold the other it didn't make the feeling go away. Tightly he held him, the zipped jacket he wore preventing him from actually feeling the hot tears hitting his chest. This was what he strived to avoid in their daily lives, because even though the younger male hated showing any emotions, when he actually did let them out, especially one so strong as the one he was currently feeling, it was always to heartbreaking to watch.

If he kept him happy, things like this wouldn't happen at all…but really that sounded a little too delusional. Setsuna was human, and because of that he was supposed to feel every emotion describable and maybe a few that couldn't be put into words. He couldn't be happy all the time, no, that wouldn't be right. Slinging around righteous words didn't help a thing, saying that he wanted to 'protect' and 'keep the other happy' were just things to keep his mind from reverting back to state where nothing mattered. But the fact of the matter was this…it was impossible to really shield his wife from the hardships of the world, and really a few of them needed to happen. Just which? He didn't know…

But he still believed that the youngest needed him, and even if his 'righteous words' were just words he still very much had faith in them. Neil would try, fail, and succeed when it came to dealing with his wife because that was how the world worked. True happiness would not be handed to them so easily, they had to work for it and that meant going through whatever obstacle was put in front of them.

The older male felt the younger one begin to easy up a little, grip on his jacket not as tight as before and his sobbing calming down to the point where it wasn't as evident. Just because he was on his way to stopping didn't meant he felt better, but now that he had gotten some of what he was feeling out his 'normal' behavior could return in a matter of days…or at least he hoped it would. The youngest stayed motionless as he collected himself, because he still had not said all he needed to. There was still something he needed to say, something that would further the situation along but probably would not solve the problem.

"I'll…tell you everything…but not now. Just…give me some time…" Setsuna muttered, grip increasing once again. That's all he wanted to hear…even if he wouldn't get his answer right away, there was now a guarantee that one would be give in the future.

"Alright…I'll wait." The older male said, holding him a little tighter. So they had finally broken through another barrier, and it felt as if the air around them had lifted a little. Never had he noticed it before, but once it started to dissipate that day certainly started to feel much better. The two left the park, since he admitted to the younger male that he really couldn't take anymore cold weather.

Setsuna held his arm, much like he did on the bus that day, but there a difference in the way he did it. There was no fear behind it, something that was clearly presented Friday a week ago. It was…just the two of them, nothing more and nothing less. It hadn't been that way for months, and he was more then happy to have that feeling back. He was touching him…and Neil could definitely feel it. That feeling had also been lost during last few months…whenever he was touched by the other he would feel absolutely nothing from him. It was like he was on emotional shutdown, unable and unwilling to feel or allow anyone to feel something from him. It was a scary thing, but he was willing to put it behind him and move on.

Just as they were a block away from the apartment complex, he noticed his arm jerk a little. Stopping, he looked back and found his wife stationary, attention directed upward with a look of amazement written all of over his face. The older male knew that expression, and even though he didn't need to look he still brought his vision to the same level was the younger male's. How fitting…with such a horrible start to the day, it only seemed right that they were given something to show that the world wasn't all bad.

It was snowing…technically the first snow of December, which just made it even more significant. Fresh snow was always a sight to see, so as the two of them stood there only a block away from their living area, he felt a little better about the coming days. Their break was still very much upon them, and now that things were getting back on track the fun between the two could finally happen. It was time to relax and let loose, because school wouldn't start back up until after New Years and the older male was going too exploit this fact until time ran out…

Especially since he had quite the surprise for Setsuna on Christmas…


	14. The Outing Chapter

Why was he always being left out? Legally speaking was it not his brother's obligation to tell him if there was a problem since the youngest _was_ his brother-in-law (something he did not like referring to the other as), so therefore some responsibility for his wellbeing fell on him as well. But no…he was left in the dark about what had gone on the last Friday before break started, nor was he told about his the younger male's odd behavior. Sure he noticed it, but he physically wanted to be told if there really was a problem or if he was just looking at something the wrong way. That didn't happen…and just why he was always left in ignorant bliss all the time was beyond him.

However…Lyle was surprisingly used to it all. When younger he hated it more then anything, but after so many years one could only grin in bare it. That might've been a horrible thing to do, but it wasn't like he could actually ask to be included. It just sounded ridiculous…He'd learned over the years the he really was nothing more then second best to his brother when it came to anything dealing with Setsuna, and that too was something he couldn't change. He was…really in the way of their relationship, because he knew deep down his brother wanted the younger male all to himself. Why wouldn't he? It was his wife after all, so of course he didn't want others touching him.

It was a realization that he'd grown to accept over the years, but he never once voice what he felt or complained. He did still try though, flirting with the youngest whenever an opportunity arose, trying his best to have his attention brought over to him. The act was childish really, but he didn't care seeing that the two of them never had much alone together. When they did it was always during those Tuesdays and Thursdays when Lockon would be working, and it wasn't all that enjoyable since the younger male was always out of it. Lyle was sure the other _**never**_ became so depressed during the weekend, the two days when he had to work and needed to be away from the apartment for hours.

True be told it was probably his fault that the younger male didn't notice him as much as he wanted, in the past either acting completely awkward around him or…well, that's pretty much it. Back then the mere thought of being in the same room as Setsuna made his cheek heat up furiously, because he just had that affect on him. He was his first crush, and it really did put quite the damper on the situation since the youngest was his brother's first as well. Most said that the first crush was something that never lasted, and that statement was so full of bull that he almost wanted punch whoever had come up with it. Never? _Never_? Dammit, if that was the case he wouldn't be lusting after his brother's wife! And it wasn't a recent thing! He'd been doing it for _**years**_, and the two of them were completely okay with it (which wasn't a bad thing)!

The older male was sure his feelings could be considered borderline fascination, but…wasn't that was love was? A passion that makes one devoted to another, a feeling so strong that it couldn't be described easily. That's what he felt when the younger male was around, and his only wish was that he was actually a part of his and the younger male's relationship…and not just an 'add-on'. It was true…he felt like he didn't need to be there, that he was tagging along where he wasn't wanted. Well that did sound like a little much, given that the youngest had admitted that he liked him as well…he just happened to like his brother more. But then again it probably went right back to the way the older male acted around Setsuna, since Lockon was much more forward when it came to how he felt.

Then again his brother did _a lot_ of things he didn't…if anything he could've been considered a background character when it came to comparing himself to his twin. When younger he was never one to start anything, which usually lead to him being left out when the other children would play. It wasn't that he disliked being around others, the older male just wasn't the kind of person to speak first. He'd admit back then that he was introverted to the point where being around people he didn't know well made him feel _very_ uncomfortable, and of course his brother noticed this right off the bat.

As always Lockon would literally pull him into any kind of social situation, even if he wasn't necessarily wanted there. It was just the kind of person he was, always wanting the so called 'outcast' to have a good time as well. It was an odd habit, but because Lockon was a 'dragger' and not a 'follower' it just seemed to fit. A dragger was someone who liked pulling people into things, going every which way with no real aim in sight other then to 'do something'. Draggers usually had a strong personality, one that needed time to adjust to if new. Then you had the follower…the (usually reluctant) person who was always dragged around by the other, and would probably never admit it but liked being dragged since it made them feel like they were a part of something. They were usually the withdrawn, socially awkward people who didn't really say much around others (basically, him).

He had been his brother's follower for pretty long time, but it wasn't until Setsuna moved into the village that he wanted to follow _him_. Unusual was the best way to put it, since the younger male was in no way dragging him around anywhere. So really it was a follower following a follower, and something like that just didn't happen often. But then again maybe it wasn't…there was something egging him on, something telling Lyle that this person was worth following much like his brother. Did that mean he was a new breed of some kind? Or was it that the two terms just could not describe what a person was deep down?

The older male wasn't sure, but he did know that the two of them were outcasts…

He'd thought about it before, and Lyle was sure that it was another reason his brother fell so hard for the youngest. It was probably something he didn't noticed until a little later, and it just reinforced how he felt. Setsuna wasn't normal…he'd known this since the moment the laid eyes on him. There was just something about his disposition that just screamed 'I'm not like everyone else', and he was right. The younger male had a very odd way of looking at the world, since it was clear that he had never experienced many thing normal people had. That fact fascinated him…how could someone have such little knowledge of he real world? Better yet how can someone have such little knowledge about basic things? The older male was absolutely astonished the first time he saw the other drink Ramune, Setsuna treating it like it was a delicacy. It was just _**soda**_.

From then on he watched his interactions with everything, wanting to see just how they differ from the interactions 'normal' people had. It felt a little odd examining him as if he was some kind of animal, but once he started he just couldn't stop himself. There was something so captivating about him, maybe it was his naivety or maybe it was uncaring exterior he put out to the world. It was just a false front, but it just made him even more of an entrancing person. He'd been hurt in the past, his brother told him this, so he understood why someone would block so much of themselves from the eyes of everyone around them. It was saddening more then anything.

But as always only Lockon could break that poker-face, something he wanted to try for so long. On the other hand he wasn't the best at cheering people up, and he knew it had something to do with his lack of peppiness. It was there, he was sure of it, but he refused to use it for some reason. Others liked upbeat people because they knew how to talk to them without making the situation worse…basically their tone made those 'hard to read' people feel better. For those the peppy people weren't cheering up, the ones that watched from afar, it came off as incredibly fake and he really didn't want to come off as that when talking to the younger male. However…his brother wasn't fake, that _was_ his personality (excluding the year he turned thirteen since that was a moody year for everyone).

There were two type of twins to him; the first being the ones that shared everything in common, right down to their likes, dislikes, and personality. He didn't know anyone like that, because he along with most of the others twins he knew fell under the other category. The opposites…the twins that shared only looks and nothing more, personalities completely different from their siblings to the point where confusing one for the other would be like calling a grapefruit an orange and vise-versa. It would be offensive and wrong in everyway. He and his brother were indeed two different people, but yet they had fallen for the same person. One would've thought that doing something like that would've fallen under the 'same person' twin type, but the two did have different reasons for being attracted to him.

He wasn't going to lie and say he knew exactly what his brother's reasoning was, but he did know what his was. There was something about him that Lyle could relate to, that distant attitude he though only he himself possessed was something of a reassurance. The older male did not dislike being around others, rather the whole 'group' aspect of things just did not sit well with him (at least when younger). He would've just rather do something on his own, because he believed that if other's interfered that would only slow the process down. That did seem too far out there, did it? He didn't think so…

Because of his distant attitude he barely had any acquaintances, and even the few he did have the older male wasn't really sure if he really could call them by such a name. The only reason he had people called 'friends' was because of his brother, since he was always the one to attract attention and since Lyle just happened to be tagging along, boom, friends. It didn't matter if he got along with them, they were going to stick around and there was nothing he could do about it. At first that's what he thought, but once the smoke cleared and the number of people actually started to dissipate…there were only three left. Apparently he found that just because his brother talked to a lot of people didn't mean they were 'buddies'…they were just sheep that liked for follow someone they deemed him 'cool' or 'popular'.

Lockon was considered both things…until he opened his mouth and made sure no one every thought such a thing again. That was the day he considered his brother probably the most genuine person he'd ever known, and that in fact rubbed people the wrong way. The two of them were twelve when it happened, and even at such a young age his brother was considered the popular one. It was more then a little annoying to have half the school (that was probably an exaggeration) crowed around both of them as they tried to enjoy themselves during the break, because that was the time when Lyle liked to keep to himself without interruption.

He didn't have to answer questions to a topic he wasn't sure were going to be important in real life, wasn't forced to be in a group for projects that he really didn't want anything to do with, and didn't _have_ to interact with others at all. Their break period was a time when he could be himself, and was not confined in a classroom with people he'd rather not be around. Maybe if he was peppy like his brother he would've enjoyed the high energy of others, and maybe then he wouldn't have been so withdrawn. However, at the time he didn't think there was a thing to be done about that aspect of his life, so he just swept the issue under the carpet like he usually did.

After wading through the crowed he just wanted to leave, since that week's events had worn him down to the point where sleep was more then welcome in his day. The sports festival…a week long event were all regular classroom activities were cancelled, having all the students participate in some kind of sport related event. Of course the much younger children were separated from the older ones, just to keep it fair since the week was competitive. But probably the most surprising thing about that week was that he was actually excited about it; there was always some kind of good that came out of school festivals, and the sport one just happened to be that he was allowed to pair up with his brother for events.

There was a cardinal rule during gym that was always to be followed until both he and his brother left the school…they were to NEVER be placed on the same team. For some reason the two of them just worked well together, becoming an unstoppable forced that couldn't be taken down easily…that was a slight exaggeration but not far from the truth. Since the class versus class competition wasn't until the end of the week, the students were allowed to pick a small team that would compete against others. The other students would literally rush to get the both of them on their team, which would sometimes lead to arguments that needed to be broken up by the teachers. Needless to say he and his brother were considered MVPs.

Lyle was sure the reason the two of them worked so well was because they balanced one another, making up for the weaknesses the other had. His biggest weak point was his amount of stamina, because he could only continuously do something for so long without completely burning himself out. Lockon on the other hand was like the goddamn Energizer Bunny, just going and going…but that's where his problem lied. Just because he could go for miles didn't necessarily mean he was the swiftest between the two of them, but that wasn't to say that he was the slowest person in his class (he was actually the fastest). So basically if there was anything that was held in the form of a race, he took over, and if there was something that required the person to perform some kind of taxing workout (jumping jacks, sits up, etc.), then his brother took over.

And that was how they spent the previous week, either winning or coming in somewhere within the top five of each competition. It was the main reason he felt a little more irritated then usual that day, and why he felt like crashing on the spot. While walking away from the crowed he noticed three people not participating in trying to praise his brother, which was a slight surprise but didn't faze him too much. He knew the three of them, not personally, but had seen them around. The Haptism twins were only known by all because of the ridiculous antics of the 'elder' brother, and everyone in some way he been a victim of a prank of some kind. The lone child, sitting by the school reading, was notorious for his habit of calling everyone that approached him an 'idiot'.

Basically…they were a bunch of outcasts and oddballs just like him.

Because he was so focused on how abnormal the three were, not acting like everyone else, he couldn't help but jump when he heard his brother call attention to everyone. All of Lyle's focus was placed on his brother as he head him shout at the top of his lungs that 'he was just like everyone else' and that he was 'not an idol in any shape or form'. The older male's initial thought that pretty simple, at least in his book…WHO THE HELL SAYS THAT? Who would _willingly_ say they didn't want to be popular? Didn't…didn't that make school easier? He was sure that the higher one was on the 'social pyramid' the better off they were, because when people praised someone they didn't make fun of them.

Lockon was at the top, the other kids liked him for unknown reasons and that should've pleased him…so why was he shouting nonsense? Why did he want to renounce such a high position for one that would basically make him invisible to others? But it wasn't like the people surrounding him would just leave him like that, not after all the years of following and praising. Yeah…they were his friends, people that would stick by him no matter what he said. At least that's what he thought until he saw everyone start to disperse, a few muttering that his brother was 'weird'. Some friends…

Quickly going over to his brother, the first thing he _wanted_ to say was 'are you alright?' but what came out was 'ARE YOU INSANE?' Of course his mind needed to get that out of the way before any real concern could be shown, because that was the kind of person he was. Comfort was always a priority, but that didn't mean it was at the very top of his list…calling his brother out on BS was. He was such an idiot sometimes, so much so that it was actually necessary for him to tell him. But that's what kind of person he was…as stupid as what he said sounded, there was always a reason for his insanity, always benefiting everyone in the long run.

However, that little fact was forgotten as he hit him behind the head, saying that what he had done was 'completely unnecessary'. Obviously Lockon just laughed a little, admitting that he had been a little loud with his announcement…and Lyle was sure he had completely missed the point. Why was he so dense…? Hitting him again, he told (well…really yelled) that having that much attention and just letting it slip away was absurd. But as he was about to go into further detail, he noticed an odd look cross his brother's face. At first it looked blank, as if he was trying to fathom just what had come out of his mouth…but that wasn't it. Upon closer inspection he saw that the look was that of confusion, and that confusion started to irritate him. Why didn't he get it…?

Popularity was…everything, because being on the bottom was…well, rather lonely. And it wasn't until he thought such a thing that his anger began to lessen; to be loved by all came with a price, a price that wasn't made clear to him until his brother gave him a little hint. With a quick pat on the head, his twin told him that they had 'more time to hang out since the crowds were gone', and his heart really couldn't help but sink a little. Loneliness was not something reserved to the people at the base of the pyramid, and he learned that day that it was also shared with those at its peak. Just because one was surrounded by people did not mean they were content with _that_ kind of attention. Having to please so many meant neglecting priorities that were once important, and since he knew what kind of person his brother was…he understood.

The reason he had thrown away his high position was because he too was lonely, and since it was impossible for Lyle for get to his level…he brought himself down to his. He was his brother…and truth be told he had been neglecting him in order to please others, and he must've realized that. Lockon always did that…thought more of others then his own wellbeing, and maybe that was his biggest weakness. To put others before oneself was a excellent trait for someone to posses, however; that did lead to problems…one being the overlook of personal concerns. Everyone needed to be a little selfish once in awhile, because if you didn't know how to talk care of yourself, how could you really take care of someone else?

But from then on people stopped crowed, though when the sports festival did come up they were still treated like royalty. Another (slightly stranger) outcome of his brother's outburst was the sudden attention from the Haptism twins…and the sudden annoyed presence from one young Tieria Erde. They were the only three that had actually stayed after his brother was done, and for some reason that was enough of a reason for them to officially become friends. 'Officially' basically meant spending time with one another outside of school grounds, something both he and his brother really hadn't been accustomed to. In the past they rarely had people over, but after making 'friends' they were over practically everyday (well, the second youngest was pretty much dragged there by Hallelujah). Lyle would watch them from afar, until he was pulled into the action which was…mildly enjoyable.

Those were his friends, though he really didn't start getting use to them until Setsuna moved to the village. Once he arrived the older male felt more…_compelled_ to do things, like the younger male had given him an actual reason to do something. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he had fallen for him, or maybe he just had that kind of affect on people seeing that his brother had gotten over his slump extremely fast upon leaning about his new wife. It was strange how someone with such little people skills could alter the lives of other people, given that he didn't really say or do all that much. But with those small, delicate gestures and straight forward way of speaking just made people…feel different.

He certainly felt different when around the youngest, like his problems were pushed to the side momentarily. This was another reason he was willing to overlook the whole 'not being told anything' for the time being, but just because he overlooked it didn't mean he wouldn't brood over it. This was exactly what he was doing as he lied against the floor, one arm behind his head as the television near him continued to emit sounds of a few high pitched voice actresses. Since he wasn't paying the screen any mind, he couldn't tell just what was going in the slightest…but it sounded like someone was something was being blown up. Being so lost in thought he'd almost forgotten about the fact that Setsuna was resting against his chest, all of his attention focused on the screen.

Of course he wasn't going to move until the commercial break, and given what the day way that moving wasn't going to be much. Tuesday…Lockon was away and that meant the younger male would be in a slump until either something was done or his brother returned. It also meant he wouldn't react to thing as quickly, so the hand that was currently racking its fingers through his hair would go unnoticed until the break. It wasn't uncommon for him to do such things when they were alone, though it did feel as if he was taking advantage of him sometimes. Setsuna wasn't really aware of what was happening to him sometimes, and when he would come to he'd look a little displeased with the situation. However, he would never push him away, just muttering a small 'cut it out' or 'stop touching me'.

So…did that mean he didn't mind being touched? They were, after all, dating so therefore touching was going to be a given, right? Oh yes…they were dating. The younger male had admitted to him years ago that he did hold feelings for him, and that did make their situation a little better. For one it made showing his affection a little less stressful, since he didn't have to worry about his brother punching him for touching him wife. Granted he was already permitted to do some things, but now that his feelings were no longer one-sided if he touched the other or not no longer fell under his brother's jurisdiction. But seeing that the two of them were nineteen, there was an unspoken agreement between them that was probably made the moment they turned eighteen…

Sex was a no-no unless Setsuna was completely ready. Really the three of them were supposed to talk about it together, since it was a major concern in their lives. But unless the younger male physically came to one of them and said 'I want you to', they weren't allowed to act on their instincts. This was completely understandable given the fact that the youngest was well…young. Yes he was a teenager, but his mind was still very naïve. That very naivety and innocence was something he did not want the hands of corruption to take away so easily, because committing such an act meant exposing him to things deemed 'dirty' and 'immoral' by some. To lead him down such a path when he wasn't ready would be unforgivable, and neither of them wanted to be responsible for that.

On the other hand the physically aspect of the act would _definitely_ being them closer, both literally and figuratively. To be with someone like that, touching them in ways that were only appropriate behind closed doors …the mere thought of that caused Lyle to have quite the amazing feeling. There was so much trust that went along with sex, and to have the youngest have that much faith in him would be a big change. That wasn't to say he didn't trust him at all, the older male just wanted him to trust him the same way he did his brother. It was obvious he didn't, because it wasn't that hard to tell…Why wouldn't he be a little happier with the person who had changed him? Who had shown him a little of the world? Why wouldn't Setsuna be more attracted to that?

Lyle had done nothing significant in the younger male's life, so his existence was always being questioned in some form. If the younger male already had Lockon, did he really need a doppelganger that was the exact opposite of his personality? His feelings for the younger were strong, but for the most part he was treated like…a lesser version of his brother. That was unfair…They were completely different people, and it wasn't their fault that they just happened to be born as twins. It was another feature that came long with being a double, and he was sure Setsuna was trying his hardest to treat them as individuals…though he was failing in some area.

One such area was intimacy, and it would be rather unjust to blame all of said issue on just him. Just because Lyle liked to flirt with him, did not mean he was in any way comfortable with being close to him. His nerves would always get the better of him at some point, causing him to easily fluster and act awkward. There were just some things that could not change with time, and the pounding feeling in his chest that only appeared whenever the youngest was near was one of them.

For instant even as the youngest lay motionless against his chest, the older male's heart was beating much faster then it should have been. He was sure Setsuna noticed (since he was _right there_), but was too focused on other things to actually comment. There was no amount of calming that would make it stop, because he'd learned in the past that trying to stop such emotions made them even worse. Something as innocence as the two of them lying on the ground together could be blown WAY out of proportion by his mind, and it was all thanks to his goddamn hormones. The older male couldn't even count the number of nights were his thoughts would be plagued with images of inappropriate acts, and on those nights the only thing he could do was 'calm himself' in the bathroom.

It was sick really…but he was young and being deprived of what he was sure was a necessity of life. He was supposed to touch the person he loved, supposed to caress them and give them pleasure if the mood was right. As much as he kissed him, toyed with his body (always staying within the boundaries he was supposed to), he wanted more but knew that because the two of them were still slightly uncomfortable with the topic of 'exploration' that it wouldn't happen any time soon. So that basically meant his mind would continue to run wild with the fantasies he wanted to come true, and that only made him feel worse.

As a teenager he was supposed to have sexual desires that manifested themselves in his psyche often, he just wished they weren't about someone he spent so much time with. It just made their interactions even more awkward, because it was hard to shake such images when the person that was the main focus was _right there_. Lyle had to completely avoid him once because he was sure that there was no way for him to control himself. Having that feeling scared him…to know that there was a chance that he could so easily snap one day and jump the younger male without too much warning. Something like that would not only destroy the relationship they had, but would ruin the one he had with his brother and friends.

So the rules were simple…keep his hands above the waist…

When he heard the telltale sign that a commercial break finally happened, he felt the younger male move against his chest a little. The hand that played with his hair stopped, making its way a little lower and coming to a full stop once it came in contact with Setsuna's waist. It pulled him a little closer, and he was sure his heart started to beat a little faster because of it. As expected he was given a small muttered 'stop touching me', but as always nothing was done about it.

Now that the younger male was 'conscious' in a sense, it was time to try and talk to him about actually leaving the apartment. The older male had found that when they actually left the building Setsuna would feel better, acting like he usually did when Lockon was around. He knew that flat out asking if there was something the other wanted to do was out of the question, seeing that he would only be greeted with silence. So instead Lyle asked if there were any short of new manga that was supposed to come out that week, and the younger male perked up slightly. If he wanted the youngest to do anything, it was much easier to coach him along with what he liked then be blunt and ask. Yes, it was manipulation in a sense, but as long as they weren't doing anything immoral or illegal it was fine.

Breaking away from his grip the younger male crawled his way over to the closet, and he didn't have to ask just what he was going for. His laptop…it was the only way the youngest could check if there were any releases that he was missing. Lyle really only used the device for school, though it did serve as a means of entertainment. There were a lot of websites out there, so of course something was going to attract his attention, though it wasn't until he watched the younger male visit all the anime related websites he did that his attention was captivated a little more. The older male knew the medium had quite the following, but just how well known certain shows were didn't hit him until he saw the many fansites dedicated to only one show or character.

People online were diehards, and because of the anonymity they could and would say whatever they wanted to. Setsuna wasn't the kind of person to actually participate in any of the conversations, and he was sure it was because he disliked talking to people he didn't know. Anonymity or not people were still people to him, so therefore his interaction with them were always limited. To be one of the people the younger male was close to was a big deal, which was why Christina and Feldt came as such a shock to everyone. Of course the youngest would grow out of his caution nature eventually (they both would), but to see it so soon was the surprising thing.

Now the older male wasn't a genius, but it could easily be seen that the other had befriend the two because they shared a common interest. It was definitely a good start, and maybe somewhere down the line he'd make friends with people he had other things in common with. Setsuna was an interesting person with interesting talents, and it was a shame that it took someone he knew well to notice such a thing. There was so much potential in that small body of his, potential that could so easily be turned into something great.

He was holding himself back for some reason, focusing on things that probably didn't interest him but were considered 'important'. He was such a hard worker, but it could easily be seen that his passion was directed elsewhere. It was a shame that someone like him had to be forced into doing something so tedious, because Setsuna seemed like the kind of person that wasn't meant to be bound to a desk. There were other people like that out there, Lyle was sure of it, people that were not 'conventional' and did not associate well with normal standards. That was the kind of person the younger male was…he was so different that it seemed unreasonable to actually treat him the same as everyone else.

His talents needed to nurtured, but in order to do that the youngest needed to be willing to accept the fact he excelled at something other then school work. On several occasions the youngest had admitted that there was nothing he was particularly good at…other then studying. That was in no way true! For starters he was quite the chef, showing this skill everyday since he was the primary source of nourishment in his and his brother's apartments. When the two of them said they liked everything the younger male made, it wasn't some kind of bluff they told him to make him feel special…it was the truth.

Setsuna overanalyzed things, looking at everything and finding some kind of flaw when it wasn't required. He didn't really see things for what they were…just plain and simple. It probably had something to do with his complex character that made him see things in a deeper sense, but because both he and his brother had a simpler nature the world to them was seen in a different light. He'd witnessed Lockon on many occasions try explain what 'simplistic' meant to the other, and on those occasions witness the whole conversation completely go over the younger male's head. It didn't surprise him in the slightest that he didn't understand such a straightforward concept, since that too tied in with the complexity of his character as well as his past experiences.

On top of his wonderfully blessed fortune in the culinary field, he was also quite skilled when it came to the arts. The younger male had a fairly large notebook stashed in the back of his closet, one dedicated to just sketches. It was rather plain looking, just a spiral bound, sapphire book with the brand name written on the front. At first glance it was nothing special, and if one were to ever find it they'd simply set it aside as nothing but old school notes…something he was sure the younger male wanted others to think. But once the thin cover was cracked over, it could be assessed fairly quickly that it was no mere book. He himself had learned that the object was the very same one he'd given him three years ago, a last minute birthday gift the older male thought would not rub the other well.

Lyle was _horrible_ with dates, and unless marked on a calendar events such as holidays or birthdays were completely forgotten. He didn't know why his mind wouldn't allow itself to learn a few simple (but important) dates. He was thankful when he received his cell phone upon entering high school, because it his was equipped with a special feature he knew his parents probably put a lot of thought into. All phones had a calendar feature, all phones allowed the user to write some kind of message under a specific date…but not every phone gave off an annoying sound three days before the actual event took place. It was incredibly helpful, but he actually needed to have the phone one for it to work. This was why he never turned it off…only doing so when he needed to charge it (which was often for obvious reasons).

It was surprising to know that Setsuna had managed to keep the thing for so long, but what was more surprising was the fact that he had managed to not fill it in all that time. In total there were one thousand pages in said notebook, and over the span of three years any normal person would've easily filled it. But the younger male was not normal. To actually catch him drawing was a feat itself, it wasn't as bad as trying to catch him _really_ smile, but it was still difficult. But the evidence was clear that the notebook was being used, because he or his brother usually checked it at least once a week. The younger male really didn't care if they looked, since he had admitted so on quite a few occasions…yet he didn't allow them to actually see the process at all.

It wasn't that big of a deal, seeing that the outcome was quite rewarding even if they didn't know how he did it. Setsuna has two very distinct styles; the first was the more anime-ish, each character looking as if they belonged in one of the shows the younger male watched. Using his brother's terminology, he could easily call them 'sweet' though the youngest didn't like those kinds of comments. The second, and much more surprising, style was the more realistic and looked as if it was actually a photograph. He never drew humans when using this style, only sceneries that looked like he drew them from his balcony. They were extremely detailed; everything looked fairly accurate if compared to the real thing, but as always the younger male said that it was 'off' in some kind of way.

Since both he and Lockon were lacking in the art department, it could be said that they were easily impressed by things that looked interesting or captivating. But they _knew_ what the youngest did was amazing…he put a lot of effort into what he did, and this could be seen in the meticulous details of whatever he drew. If it was a character he didn't just draw the figure, no, he drew front view, the side and back view. It didn't stop there…he went so far as to draw close up on the eyes, hands, important article of clothing and even sketched out different facial expressions.

For the sceneries there was always a few separately sketches out objects, for instance if there was a tree somewhere in the picture on the back of the page he drew the entire scene on would be a much more detailed view of said tree. That was another thing that probably contributed to the unfinished nature of the notebook, since the younger male had the habit of literally filling up both the front and back of each page. Setsuna was a special kid, and the only real shame was that he had not realized it.

Lyle watched as he removed his laptop from the closet, opening it and quickly turning it on. Because he wanted to see just what the other was going to find, the older male scooted over and sat next to him. He wasn't up to date with the latest anime and manga; this was why he always relied on the youngest to show him just what was considered 'new' or 'trendy'. Since the bookstore they usually went to was a well known business, their website was stocked full of the latest released and updated a few times a week. And since the one near them was located in the southern town, a placed filled with college students, discounts on school books were given to those who attended any of the institutions in the area.

It came in handy seeing that said school books usually cost and arm and a leg, since paying for at least five books, rent, and food cost added up to WAY too much for just the one person living on their own. The transition from living off of the weekly income of one's parents and taking a job to supports one's self was a big thing, but it was needed to live in the real world.

Out of his peripheral vision he couldn't help but noticed that the younger male's shirt was slightly lowered at the shoulder, exposing it ever so slightly. Of course he couldn't really focus on what was being looking up anymore, since the discovery of such a small exposure was going to drive him crazy if something was not done. It was just…_there_. He, much like his brother, had a mild fascination with catching a small glimpse of 'forbidden' skin on the other. It wasn't such a bad habit in the warmer months, since the younger male would wear thing that showed his body off just a bit. But when the winter months came…they were deprived of that and asking Setsuna to take his shirt off was not and probably would never be an option.

Since the youngest was wearing a long sleeve shirt because of the cold weather, having such a sight was somewhat of a rarity. His fingers twitched…Lyle wanted to touch him. He _needed_ to…the older male knew form experience that if the other was focused on something else, he wouldn't react to being touched right away. So he slid behind him, hands beginning to shake as they positioned themselves around the younger male's waist. His body was warm, obviously, and it felt rather nice against his slightly chilled skin. There was a heating in the room, but for precaution sake he kept it so somewhat low (since his room was in no way clean and he didn't want to burn the complex down…). Because of this the room still felt cold, but not so cold that any normal person could not stand it.

Really they should've just moved into Lockon's room since it was warmer, but for some reason Setsuna refused to go over there when it was just the two of them. The reason why was left unknown to him, and no matter how many times he asked he received and odd look from the youngest. It wasn't anger in his face, nor was it confusion…so Lyle wasn't sure just what the younger male was trying to tell him. Dropping the subject seemed like a good idea, so that's what he did even though his mind was screaming 'ask him!'

But the slight chill didn't bother him now that he was close enough to the youngest, cheek gently pressed against his soft hair. This was the person his brother slept with ever night, the one very same one that he himself wanted to sleep in the same manor. Of course he slept over from time to time, and the two sometimes spent nights over at his place…but he wanted _alone_ time. That consisted of having Setsuna all to himself, and having the younger male not act as he had just been dumped. He wanted him to act normally, to be the person he was use to when their friends were around. That wasn't asking for too much, was it?

"I love yo-" Lyle started, but the sound of the younger male's phone prevented him from finishing. It was clear that Setsuna was not paying it any mind, so the older male hesitantly slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled it out. Given the very brief noise it emitted, he knew that instead of an actual call he had received a text message. Flipping it open he found that it was from his brother, and its contents were sure to make the younger male come out of his trance.

"Setsuna," He started, "Lockon said he's coming home early."

As he expected he received instant reaction.

"Really?" He asked, attention now directed up at him. Lyle just gave him a small nod, which made the younger male look back at the screen. That was a little odd…he would've thought the younger male would've been a little more enthusiastic about his husband coming back early. It probably wouldn't be in his best interest to ask, so he kept his mouth shut. Looking over his shoulder he could see a list entitled 'new releases' on the screen, and to his surprise there wasn't much there. He knew which titles the younger male liked the read, and unless he was getting something new then Lyle knew what to expect.

Setsuna _was_ given a weekly allowance by his parents, but he was told by Lockon that he was not allowed to use it to pay for their rent. It was something he wanted to take care of himself, and he didn't want his wife spending his money on 'serious thing' but rather on 'things for himself'. Lyle understood why that was, though it did seem a little unfair since it was limiting the amount of responsibility the younger male could've had. He was sixteen and though that did not mean he was old enough to actually be considered an 'adult', he was supposed to be given some responsibilities.

Granted he took care of the apartment by cleaning, cooking practically every night, and shopped for groceries…but that was just small stuff. Getting a job probably wasn't the best idea for the younger male at the moment since his people skills were…lacking in a few areas…maybe in a few years. However the older male felt that something like paying rent should've been shared between the two of them, and it was something he wanted to bring up to the two of them. He wasn't going to ask if the youngest could pay everything, just half since that seemed pretty fair to him. Lyle knew his brother didn't like to put too much stress on his wife, because it was obvious Setsuna had enough of that already. Though to not give him _anything_ to do just seemed a like a little much.

When asked to let the youngest go, he did so, watching as he walked over to the closet probably to retrieve his jacket. Since that was the case the older male stretched a little, body affected by the cold that lingered in the air. Like his brother the weather attacked his body in extreme ways, Lockon becoming very sluggish and exhausted when it rained while he on the other hand became stiff and achy when it snowed. This, however, did not hinder his will to leave the complex with the younger male and having a semi-good time (he would still be in pain after all). They were getting out of the house on a Tuesday, a day where it was hard as hell to even get the younger male to speak, so of course he would downplay anything that was ailing him.

Getting up and stretching one more time, Lyle asked the younger male wanted to visit the café that was directly across the street from the bookstore. He'd only been there a few times, but the ambiance was extremely tranquil, making it a good place to have a cup of coffee or just relaxing. It was a small place, the outside looking as plain as it could, black lettering in window that held the name of the establishment as well as a propped sidewalk menu was all that would really tell anyone that it was actually a café at all. Plain was the best way to describe it, but just like the younger male there was a lot more beneath the surface then others would believe.

He remembered it very well…upon setting foot in the small café he was instantly greeted by three people, two maid and one butler. That told him right off the bat that there was something a little special about such a place, and once he was escorted through in and to his table he could see just how special it was. The exterior did the interior no justice; it wasn't brightly lit, the dim ceiling lights and the sun that shined from the numerous windows did most of the work instead of blinding bright florescent lighting. If there was one thing he hated it was practically being blinded when walking into some place new, because it always took him by surprise and always caused his eyes to strain. But that wasn't the case with the tiny café called _Bimyou_.

And that really was the best way to describe the place…delicate and subtle. Once he was physically seated, the first thing the older male noticed was that every table was a booth and on the tables was placed a small scented candle placed directly in the center. It was a…faint small, neither overpowering the area nor going unnoticed. The scent was…seasonal, because it smelled the same as the flowers he'd spent so much time around (it was summer at the time, so he knew what was in season). The menus, which sat in front of him, didn't have as much variety as other café…but maybe that was a good thing. Variety was a good thing, but something that got in the way of perfection. The more one added to a menu meant less attention would be given to it, but less items meant more time to perfect a dish…he learned that Setsuna.

Since the youngest was not a social person, the mere suggestion that he visit some place he'd never gone before would send him rethinking things. So Lyle wholeheartedly thought the younger male would decline, so he just decided that the two of them would only take a quick trip to the bookstore then come right back home. It was just the kind of person he was, and there was probably no changing-

"I don't mind if we do…"

Well…that was unexpected…and if he had not been aware that he was conscious he would've thought he was stuck in some odd dream. To be honest the older male couldn't help but give the other a slight look, one of pure bewilderment and surprise because he felt completely blindsided by what the youngest had just said. Setsuna was acting slightly out of character…and the older male wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. But now that Lyle thought about it there was something different about him, something that deviated from how he had been acting over the last few months.

He wasn't cold, still blunt, but not cold to the point where he would snap and yell insults to people. He still looked tired, but didn't look as if he would fall over and pass out. All in all he seemed pretty normal…with a little something extra added. The older male didn't mind this, though he still wanted to figure out just why it had come in the first place. Not wanting to spoil the strangely good mood that had filled the air, he merely gave him a small 'alright'.

So…they would be deviating from the usual 'going only to the bookstore', and really that was something that did not happen at all. The first thing that came to his mind was that they would finally be going on a date…something two of them rarely did. When they usually went out it would be the three of them (the younger male, his brother and him of course), and it was a little awkward trying to do anything with Setsuna since his brother was already doing it. It was flawless…the way he touched his wife without hesitation, kissed him as if not one was looking, and spoke to him as if he didn't mind whoever overheard him. Confidence was something Lyle knew he lacked, and it was why he envied his brother to no end.

Lockon didn't worry about the thoughts of others, didn't care who looked at him with disapproving eyes, only that he was there with his wife. He and his brother were two different people, but there was only one thing he wished the two of the shared…self-confidence. Lyle couldn't bring himself to do the same thing his brother did half the time, and when actually attempted his nerves would always get the better of him. The older male knew someone was looking at the two of them, eyes filled with spite because…well he wasn't sure.

However as they existed the room, he did managed to at the very least hold the other's hand. Since it was not gloved, the older male could feel the heat coming off of it. But he knew that the heat from that hand of his would slowly start to leave him as soon as they set foot outside, so it was up to him to make sure some warmth was retained. Setsuna might've liked the colder months, but he had one big weakness; because of his constant exposure to the cold air, it was fairly easily for him to get himself sick. Every year at least once a week during those frigid times he'd spend most of it in bed, temperature elevated, cold compress on his forehead, and looking horrible. He hated seeing in his sure a state, but there was one slight upside to it all.

Both he and his brother had found that there were two different types of 'sick Setsuna'; the first, and most desired, was the innocent one, where the younger male would act so completely vulnerable that it was hard to resist falling for his charm. He was gentle, allowed himself to be touched without the usual 'get your hands off of me' or 'stop touching me'. If anything he wanted to be touched, but not for pleasure…he was cold, there was nothing more to it. Or rather he 'felt' cold, his body itself feeling fairly warm to the touch, so he thought he needed a secondary heat source. But even with knowing that…he enjoyed how close he was to the other, how he clung to him as if his life depended on it. It was a pitiful and sad sight, Lyle knew, but he was willing to stay with him until he returned to his normal self.

And then there was the other sick Setsuna…the evil one. Just why this side of him came out was unknown, but both the older male and his brother (and anyone who decided to visit) knew that dealing with it was sheer hell. The younger male was resistant to _**everything**_, neither wanting help nor anyone to be around him in the slightest. That was a hard task seeing that he still needed attention since he was, well, sick after all. But giving him that attention was truly a hassle…he would do everything in his weakened state keep people distant, be it by growling or physical harm (or at least he tried to).

The worst part of the youngest getting sick was that there was no telling just which side would come out; it wasn't like every other time he became sick he would revert to one or the other, oh no, it wasn't that easy. There wasn't a pattern, some kind of warning system that made it self known the day before…all they could do was wait. If they were asked to come closer they knew who they were dealing it and what to do, if they were told to back off it was clear that the week was not going to be a pleasant one.

There were so many layers to the younger male, and even though he had known him for quite a few years, there was still more to discover about his brother's wife. Perhaps that was another reason he felt attached to him…everything wasn't placed on the surface, and a little more digging was necessary to uncover it all. The older male didn't mind this at all, since it meant he'd have to spend more time with him.

Upon stepping outside of the apartment complex the cold air hit him hard, but he choose to ignore it so he did not worry the younger male. It wasn't hard to tell that Setsuna cared deeply for the ones close to him, even if his usual demeanor didn't allow it to show. Given his past of course he would want to hold on to people he finally considered 'friends' or 'significant others', and the older male was amazed he had made it all the way to age ten without having someone close to him. Isolation was never a good thing, seeing that he himself had dabbled in it, but the isolation the youngest had done to himself was…insane.

Humans needed interaction with others, needed to be physical with another, needed to experience something called a 'bond'…but yet Setsuna had neglected to experience any of that until he was ten years old. He was lucky enough to actually move to a place where people wanted him around, and that did beg the question…what would've happened if he didn't come to the village? What the isolation had lasted longer? There was not telling just how he would've turned out, but he was a sure thing that his behavior and attitude would not have been as they currently were. It was probably wrong of him to think about such thing, his mind telling him to focus on the positive and less on the negative…but someone needed to. He couldn't be positive all the time, because, well…it was unreasonable.

The walk to any place in the southern town was never long, and that was because he and his brother had actually put thought into where they wanted to live. Many factors went into picking an apartment, and low rent and utilities weren't the only ones. Distance from desired location was big one, because given their late nature traveling across town just to get to their school was ridiculous. Another, and probably the most important, factor was convenience. Sacrificing utilities for convenience wasn't that big of a deal to him, because they had a grocery store, bath house, bookstore, various entertainment spots, and their school all within walking distance. Not having a bathtub or much space did take some getting use to, but it was something they adjusted to it nonetheless.

"If you want, I could get us a table while you buy your books." Lyle said, needed to killing the silence that was lying heavy in the chilled air.

"Alright, I won't take long then."

"I don't wanna rush you-"

"It's fine, really." The youngest said, tone suggesting that going against him wasn't the greatest of ideas. There it was again…an action that seemed so different from his past, and Lyle once again had to ask himself just how such a change had come about. It wasn't a major change, but it was just _different_ from what he was use to. But as always the older male kept his thoughts to himself, merely saying that he'd see the other in when he finally ventured to the café. Upon parting ways he couldn't help but slow down a little, taking a quick glance over his shoulder at the fleeing younger male.

From where he stood the younger male even looked different, like something new had taken over his entire being. He seemed…lighter, like a load had been lifted off of him and replaced with something far less of a burden. It was strange, but something very welcome; the youngest was always so tense, never showing signs of relaxation even when the situation was as stress-free as possible. His mind was always packed with some kind of doubt, and it was clearly written on his face at all times. But now that look was not present as he watched Setsuna leave, watched his somewhat care-free face walk in the direction of the bookstore he loved so much.

What had gone on last week? Or better yet…what had gone on over the last few months? The irritation for not knowing was overshadowed by the fact that something far greater then his own feelings mattered at the moment, and that was the change the younger male was undoubtedly going through. That mattered more then anything else. A small smile creped across his face; after knowing someone for a number of year, it was quite interesting to see them in a new light…the person they'd built up over the years being altered to the point where it amazed everyone. But it was Setsuna after all…so that mean that just because there was change did not mean all of it would happen at once. Time was always a major factor when it came to the younger male, so a quick switch was not something anyone should or would expect.

However…Lyle was more then happy to watch him progress.

Walking into the café he was greeted much like he was the first time he set foot in the small establishment, a loud 'welcome!' was given to him by the three people who bowed deeply. The older male asked for a table for two, adding that the person would be joining him sometime soon. After giving a quick description of the person who would be joining him (dark hair, short, wearing a red scarf, holding a bag from the bookstore), he was escorted to his table. The space seemed particularly special to him today, and the fact that it looked decorated for the upcoming holidays added to the feel. It would be the first time he had been to the café with someone else, and that someone just happened to be the person he felt strongly for. It would be a nice date.

In the past he couldn't even fathom such a word, finding it too embarrassing because alone time with someone not blood related to him was something his nerves never got use to. When he was younger having Setsuna be alone with him was torture, because he could not for the life of him figure out what he wanted to say. He could never form a proper sentence, words always getting caught in his throat and refused to remove themselves. He was so infatuated with the younger male that just speaking to him was a hassle, but luckily that part of him was no longer (well…he still had issues from time to time).

The older male's attention was drawn to the small candle placed in the middle of table, it glimmering dimly and filling the air around him with its sweet scent. Pine, he was sure that's what it was, and that only further fueled his anticipation for the events to come. Holidays were always a big deal for him, because it was one of the only times he found enough courage to actually do something extra nice for Setsuna. It wasn't like he couldn't go out of his way on any normal day, but his body just refused to…and he knew why. Giving a gift was much easier if it was expected, because it prompted fewer questions then if he had presented the younger male a gift on a random day. There was nothing worse then being put on trial for doing something nice, though it wasn't really fair to say that the youngest didn't have a right to be suspicious.

His brother, as always, was the one that usually gave gifts randomly, so things like that were expected. But Lyle didn't commit such acts…even if he so desperately wanted to. If he actually did want to randomly buy the younger male something, his mind would freeze up. Everything he knew about the other would just fly out the window, his likes, dislikes, everything. Panic away began to set in, because he didn't know if the younger male would be pleased with his gift…so he just gave up. But when holidays (or birthdays) rolled around everything just flowed, he didn't panic nor did he stress out. During those times he thought about absurd his behavior had been in the past, since he himself always knew what the younger male like because of his simplistic needs.

Eat, sleep, and work was what he basically put out there was his only 'needs', but he was holding something back. He was all about what needed to be done and not want he wanted, and it was damn clean what he needed…to be pleased. Setsuna required the attention of others; it wasn't hard to tell since he always enjoyed being around the people he held a bond with, and especially enjoyed it when he was given _extra_ attention by both him and his brother. It was amusing at best when the youngest would deny his gratification in such a situation, because the deep scarlet hue across his face always gave him away in the end.

Of course in the beginning he'd be uncomfortable with being touched, however after six years Lyle was sure the younger male was just trying to save that poker face of his. Gently placing his elbow on the table, hand propping his head up as he gazed out of the window next to him, the older male began to think about just where his relationship was headed. Yes the youngest was in love with him, but he was also in love with his brother…and it really couldn't be that way forever, could it? The three of them were young, emotions ran one's mind so of course they would be all over the place, indecisive and fickleness came with the territory. But when everything settled, emotions no longer getting the better of him…where would he stand?

What if one of them was left out to dry?

Without looking away he could hear the waitress ask if he wanted anything, and with no real thought behind it he mutter 'green tea'. Before he heard the very noticeable footsteps of the waitress leave, he added that a healthy dose of honey would be greatly appreciated. Truth be told he hated green tea, since he found it bland and nothing more then fowl tasking water. However is something was added, be it milk or honey, it just made it taste a whole lot better. Of course it would've been easier just order something else, but his mind obviously wasn't in the right place. It wondered right back to the topic of being forgotten, if he'd been the one to be treated more like a 'friend' then a lover. He did love the younger male, so much so that he would be devastated if anything happened to cost them their relationship.

He did love Setsuna, even if it wasn't the same strong bond that his brother had, he still loved him. Of course the younger male wasn't the kind of person to toy around with people, leading them on until he just dropped them without a second thought. No, he was not that kind of person…he was thoughtful and always took the feelings of others very seriously. Though his blunt nature made it seem like he just said whatever he wanted to, there was actual thought behind it. So if he was going to dump someone in the near future, he would not only consider both sides of the story…but it would hurt him more then anything else.

The younger male was…such a fragile creature. His world, the one so different then the vastly distorted one he saw years ago, would come down if anything disrupted his connections. Lyle didn't want that, but if the youngest decided to dump someone he knew it would be hard on everyone. If anything the older male knew that he wanted his brother to stay with his wife, though to be fair the decision needed to be made or at least agreed upon my ALL three of them.

Complicated was the best way to categorize his thoughts, but maybe he was just blowing things way out of proportion. He'd come to the realization that he had a habit of doing so, taking simple things and warping them into fabricated facts. Lyle just needed to calm down and focus on the present, live in the moment and enjoy the fact that he was with the younger male at all. Yes the future looked bleak to him, but that didn't _need _to matter…But it would be hard to break such habits, because, hell, he'd been trying for years. He didn't want to think horribly of his future, especially when it involved leaving the younger male. They would be together soon, so he tried to refocus his mind on that.

Lyle sighed a little, gently picking up his newly delivered warm tea and placing the rim of the ceramic cup to his lips. Of course it was the old style Japanese tea cup, the one that lacked both a handle and a small stature. The usual way of holding it was to place one hand on its side and the other on the base, neither of which felt scolding hot due to the insulation on the inside. The cups were either solidly colored or decorated with simplistic illustrations, but both were given a thick layer of glaze which made it glimmer in any kind of light. Autumn levees danced rhythmically around the smooth surface, shades of deep ginger and scarlet circled around the fragile piece and stuck out perfectly amongst the teal background.

It was a beautiful piece, though he only noticed this briefly as his mind wondered back to the younger male. And how could he not…from where he sat he was in clear view of the bookstore, and he watched it intently because he was not sure just when Setsuna would emerge. Would he break his usually meticulous book buying ritual just for him? It seemed completely possible, though for him to do such a thing meant…well a lot to older male. He would be breaking his habit just for him, just this once, so the two of them could have some quality time together. That had to say something about him.

Time was not something he was giving much mind, but he did know that not too much had passed before he saw the familiar figure of the youngest emerge from the doorway…with other people. Upon closer inspection Lyle could see that it was none other then (who else) Christina and Feldt. He watched their interactions closely, because honestly it would be the first time he'd seen all three of them together. He had met the two girls on different occasions, Christina at the culture festival and Feldt at the concert the following weekend. The girl was quite musically inclined, playing both the piano and the violin with such ease. She made it look flawless, though he knew from experience that leaning or mastering and kind of instrument was a hassle in itself.

During his younger years when he still attended school in the village, everyone was required to play the recorder. Everyone learned the same song, but everyone was also given bonus points if they managed to learn a melody from the songbook they were given that was considered 'challenging'. Hell, for him just playing the required song was difficult, and thankfully he wasn't the only one. Hallelujah sounded horrible whenever he played, making the poor piece of wood emit such a high pitch squeak that caused everyone to cover their ears in pain. Lockon could somewhat play…when he wasn't trying to hum through the thing instead of blowing.

He tried telling his brother that 'humming' and 'playing' were two different thing…though it just never took. Setsuna and Tieria did know how to carry a tune, but stumbled over notes ever so often. The 'younger' Haptism was pretty much in the same boat as the younger males, but there was one difference; his mistakes weren't noticeable, and it took quite the ear to notice them. Outside of school the second youngest was the only one to actually play an instrument, and it was basically because, well, they weren't good at it.

As they begin to go their separate ways, Lyle couldn't help but let his eyes follow the two girls leaving instead of the younger male heading his way. Christina seemed attached to the other girl, arms wrapped loosely around her neck as they walked away. The shorter female looked as if she was bored, paying no mind to what her comrade as the rather bored look on her face made itself very clear. Studying their body language a little more closely (but not too closely), he felt a small chuckle leave him; how funny…he really thought there weren't many people in the world like his brother or the youngest, but had just been proven wrong by the sight in front of him. He had to wonder if Setsuna had taken notice at all…

Taking another quick sip of his tea, he found that he had lost sight of the younger male. That either meant he was nearing the café or had already set foot inside, both option basically meaning that there was only a matter of time before their date would truly be in full swing. With that thought now implanted into his mind, he nerves began to set in…just great. Lyle knew he needed to get himself together, because he was not going to fill the air with his awkwardness. Instead of actually enjoying his overly sweetened drink he chugged it, hoping it would attract the attention of the waitress and give him someone to talk to before Setsuna actually came. But he had no such luck. It also didn't help that he had no clue what the woman looked like seeing that he was too lost in his own thoughts, so it wasn't like he could quickly flag her down before the youngest made it to the table.

So there he was…panic stricken nerves causing his left foot to tap, which was surprisingly giving a beat to the many 'oh god's he was repeating in his head over and over again. It was just _Setsuna_, not someone he was meeting for the first time on a blind-date. The older male knew this person, knew what they were like, knew their likes and dislikes, and above all else he knew the younger male would _**immediately**_ sense his anxiety. If he did not calm himself, or at least get himself to a point where nothing was outwardly noticeable, he'd only be hurting the enjoyment he was supposed to experience when with the younger male. Placing his head down he tried to think pleasant things, ones that did not involve the youngest…but that was a task in itself seeing that all of his pleasant memories revolved around Setsuna in someway.

Yeah…he really did make him happy, and that thought perked him up. Setsuna always made him feel better even if he didn't speak and just sat, the mere presence of him was enough. But why wasn't that enough to rid himself of his edginess? Maybe he thought the younger male was too good for him…that he himself was not worth of even being in the same room was him. That could not have been the case…could it? The youngest loved him just as much as he loved his brother, so why would those thoughts even be present? Was he really that insecure? Great…whatever happy feeling he had was now as lost as his thoughts. Thinking straight was out of the question, his mind now filled with so much doubt that it was driving him crazy. He was a wreck. Upon feeling a hand on his shoulder, Lyle couldn't help but jump which apparently startled the person in question.

"Sorry…" Came Setsuna's small voice, looking as slightly taken aback. The older male quickly apologized, calling his actions uncalled for and ridiculous. The youngest gave him an odd look, but just shook his head and sat across from him.

"S-So, um…" Lyle started, trying his best to start up some kind of conversation, "W-What'd you buy?"

That was a simple enough question, one that would in no way take up the time they wished to stay. But regardless he watched as a plastic bag was handed up ever so slightly, it looking neither heavy nor full like it usually did. The youngest began to explain that he didn't feel like buying all the books that had been released that month, adding that he only picked the titles he wanted the most and wanted to save his money for something else. When questioned just what that something else was the older male was given a blank stare, which told him that it would probably be in his best interest to move on.

"Are you, um, excited that Lockon is-"

"I don't wanna talk about him right now…" Setsuna interrupted, directing his attention out the window. That was strange…usually the younger male didn't verbally object to any topic, instead just ignoring whatever was being said. But the surprising part of it all was the fact that the youngest had no desired to speak about his _husband_…Did this have something to do with his new found behavior? Or could it have been that the two had gotten into some sort of altercation that resulted in both having hurt feelings? Of course their relationship wasn't perfect, and arguments were a given…even if Lockon himself did such a poor job at it.

It wasn't so much that his bickering skills weren't up to par with his wife's; it was more that he would just let everything go before he could even give his own say, letting the younger male off the hook way too easily. It was a pitiful thing to watch, since he knew that his brother was well capable of putting up a reasonable and believable argument. Just because Setsuna was his wife, and he loved him unconditionally, did not mean he needed 'special' treatment _**all **_the time. Of course there were times when the youngest didn't want to be bothered with human interaction and would shun anyone near him, but there were times when the younger male needed to _listen_.

Lyle began to ask if Setsuna in any way had any ill feelings towards his brother, but before he could even finish his sentence he was told to stop. His attention was still directed out the window, but it was clear that he wanted to say something.

"We're not fighting…It's just…" The youngest started, taking a deep breath and he did so, "When I'm with him I wanna be with him, when I'm with you I wanna be with you…"

The older male looked at from for a moment, feeling slightly astonish for some reason. _Never_ had Setsuna openly admitted that he wanted to be with anyone, even if it was painfully obvious to those who knew him. It just wasn't in his nature to admit something like that, because it clearly made him feel far too awkward. For him to love someone outside of his own family was a big thing, without a doubt it was, because if one had never loved anything in the past it was a real shock…Lyle knew this from experience. At first the awkward feeling was strong, leading to moments one wished didn't take placed at all. But over time that feeling would diminish, leaving only the fact that someone loved another. For the youngest it would probably take a little longer then most, but that wasn't a problem at all.

What Setsuna had said made sense, and the older male couldn't help but kick himself for not realizing it sooner. When the youngest was with him or his brother for that matter, he was _there_, in the moment. Being with the two of them was a completely different topic, since he tried to spend a decent amount of time with both him and his brother so no one would feel left out. But when Lockon wasn't around, when it was just the two of them the younger male stayed as close to him as possible. He just thought that because his brother wasn't around Setsuna wanted to be near the person that looked just like him, one of the many reasons he hated being a twin. However…that small statement began changed his thinking. Of course he spoke the true, since the youngest had never once joked about his relationships.

A sharp pain hit his chest rather quickly, the realization that what he usually did when the two of them were alone probably didn't rub him the right way. Someway or another Lyle always managed to bring his brother into the conversation, be it in general small talk or comparing himself to him. He was sure Setsuna hated it when he compared himself to Lockon, but for some reason he just couldn't help it. Yes, they were different people…but there were times when he thought the younger male liked his brother more _because_ he was nothing like him. It was a horrible thing to even fathom, but yet he had.

Being proven wrong was the second best thing that happened to him that afternoon. It was amazing how well the other male could enlighten him, and at the same time act as if he had said nothing profound. He was a strange kid…doing so much without actually knowing it. As he was about to open his mouth and comment, the younger male's attention was directed to the waitress that was now standing near the table. She nodded after receiving his order of hot chocolate milk, retreating to the back of the café where the kitchen was located so they could fill it.

"Don't say anything…" The youngest muttered, looking dead at the other male.

"About wha-"

"About what I ordered."

Well he wasn't, but now that he brought it up…no, he'd let him go this time. The older male merely nodded, adding that he wouldn't say a word since he knew how sensitive the youngest was about his height (thought he didn't add the last part). He was short even for his age, and hell, Christen, who was one year younger then him, was taller! He'd probably be that way forever unless he had a major growth spurt…which probably wouldn't happen given his genes. Setsuna's mother wasn't all that tall, and though his father had some height to him it was not above average. So technically speaking if their son followed them he would not get anywhere near his husband's height, or for that matter anyone he hung around. Though the older male didn't mind this at all; Setsuna's height didn't bother him, and if anything it just made him…what was that word his Lockon always used around him? Cute? Yeah, that was it…cute.

The youngest once again directed his attention out the window, and Lyle briefly wondered what kind of world he saw through those eyes of his. It was different then someone with a normal view, he was sure, but just _how_ different was the question he wanted to ask. After so many years of being treated differently, then suddenly being treated like someone else…just how did he see people? Hesitantly he slid his hand across the table, taking the younger males and holding it gently. There was a strange stillness in the air once he'd done so, as if nothing was moving and the two of them were the only ones in the café. It took a few moments for the younger male to actually look over at him, but their eyes never met. Today was a day of strange actions on his part, and hell, why not return the favor.

But before he could do anything he noticed the younger male's eyes fill with a sudden sadness as he focused on their hands, as if he'd realized something he shouldn't have. Why were his thought filled with so much angst…? Lyle hated that look…because he felt so at a loss when as to how to make it leave. What could he say? Better yet, what could he say that wouldn't sound like a blatant attempt to make _himself_ feel better. He didn't want Setsuna thinking that he was spouting out nonsense, things he couldn't relate to because they were merely a ploy to make him feel better.

So what could the younger male say? What could reach him deep down that would make sense? Digging deep Lyle tried to think of something he could say to the younger male, even if it was simple and to the point. But…Lockon was better at doing that kind of thing. Taking complicated situation and spinning them so that they were in their simplest form was his specialty, always seeing that there was something positive about every situation. However…bringing his brother into the situation where he was not involved was not going to help. He was with the younger male at the moment, so he needed to think for himself…and that's when in finally came it him.

"_Yukkuri_…_shiteitte ne_…" He muttered, earning him a slightly look from the other.

"…Take it easy…?"

It was a common saying, and really it did speak volumes about how the people of Osaka went about their daily lives. He wanted Setsuna to slow down, hell, everyone wanted him to because they didn't want him to turn into a workaholic. That could have disastrous consequences…what if he worked so hard to the point where his thoughts could no longer be trusted? What if he did something that cost him his life? The older male would never be able to forgive himself if something like that happened…

The warmth of the other's hand left him, but only briefly, as the younger male arose from his spot across from him. He didn't need to ask just what he was doing, since the trip he made was short and to the point. Sitting down next to him, the he noticed a tense feeling begin to fill the atmosphere around them…and with good reason. Setsuna was _leaning_ against him…in _**public**_…so of course the tenseness was coming from the both of them. Public displays of affection were not something they excelled at, but from time to time moments like this would occur…moments when the two of them would throw their cautions to the wind (somewhat) and just be together…even if they weren't sitting _that _close.

"….I…don't know if I can…" The younger male muttered, sounded genuinely unsure of himself. God, the poor kid really was in bad shape…to not know how to relax was a serious problem, one that needed to be eliminated completely.

"Don't worry…" Lyle started, "I'll help you."

Another silence followed that statement, but it did not last as long as the other. The older male felt a hand slowly make itself know as it gently gripped the side of his shirt, a motion he and his brother knew every well. When the younger male wanted to be physical, but could not bring himself to actually commit the act he would latch onto some article of clothing (usually the shirt). It was like…a young child trying to get the attention of another, timidly taking a hold of their shirt and waiting for their attention. Setsuna wanted something to be done to him, wanted attention from the person he held dear in a time of distress.

And since it was indeed a time of distress…Lyle would definitely give him that attention. Reaching up he gently placed his hand on the crown of the younger male's head, leaving it stationary as the other looked up at him. He was so innocent…and that fact was proven time and time again. The older male wanted to kiss him, but knew that since they were in public it would only piss Setsuna off. Seeing that they were in such a nice café, it would've been a shame to be kicked out for making a scene. So the older male kept his lips to himself, feeling slightly disappointed with his holding back.

But hey…that's why they had an apartment.

"Lyle, get those perverted thoughts out of your head…"

How sharp he was…


	15. The Change Chapter

"Why are we doing this?"

"You wanna eat, right?"

"Yes…"

"Then shut up and keep working."

Yes it was mean, yes it as he could've been nicer, but dammit he was not in the mood! He was a horrible person…one that didn't need to be forgiven for a damn thing. God he hated himself more then anything, and Hallelujah was sure there was nothing that could lift him from the fowl mood he had placed upon himself. Why…why did his brother need to tell him all those months ago that he needed help with something? And why…_why_ did he have to agree to listen to him! Why did he choose to be as good brother at that moment? Especially since he was already in a crap ass mood to begin with…

As always he took his photography very seriously, so when the teacher assigned a project he took it as a good opportunity to do whatever he pleased. That was until his teacher told them that there were guide lines that needed too be followed…to which he almost strangled them. The 'elder' Haptism _**hated**_ being told how to work, which would probably hinder his ability to find a good job later on in life. Of course he knew that there was a difference between a job and a career, but first one needed to experience the hardships and hell from a _real_ job to really pursue a career. The 'elder' Haptism didn't have a real job yet, because he was employed by someone he'd known for years so it didn't count. Oh no…he needed a pain-in-the-ass job that made him want to kill his employees before he could have 'fun' with life.

Life wasn't fun…but to seek some kind of enjoyment out of something one liked doing was as close as he was going to get to having 'fun'. The only thing he was mildly good at was photography, so finding a job in that department would've easily just come down to where he needed to look. Even though he was young, he had already put some thought into just where he'd be working once he'd finally overstayed his welcome at Graham's flower shop. Their local newspaper was always looking for new photographers, be it experienced professionals or amateurs fresh out of collage, which did give him at least one small option. Of course after a few years of yelling at his editor for destroying his pictures, completely blowing off deadlines because he didn't feel like dealing with them, and becoming incredibly displeased with the cover that was picked since he _knew_ what looked good…some kind of changed needed to be made before he _**actually**_ killed someone.

What would Hallelujah Haptism's dream job be? Hell, he didn't know…something where he didn't have to take orders from someone who didn't even know what in God's name a filter was. Did such a place even exist? If it did he'd make it…that was for sure…But starting a business would be tough, though to be the boss and actually rule over a staff did seem like quite the opportunity. Oh yes…to give others the same hell he'd received over the years…priceless. Of course he'd be good natured…ever other day most likely.

The 'elder' Haptism was fiddling with his camera, replacing its lens when the event that completely changed his mood began to transpire. It was a nice day, not to hot to the point where it bothered him and not too cold to the point where he wanted to curse continuously. That should've told him something…nice weather during such a time was rare, and when it came to anything dealing with 'rare' Hallelujah always got the short end of the stick. Oh things did happen to him…but they were so horrible that he'd rather not think back on them in the slightest. Unfortunately when his brother walked into his room, looking as if he had something major on his mind…he should've known that he was about to be set up. Allelujah always needed help when it came to projects, because he still could not figure out any of his camera's features other then 'take a picture'.

This only further fueled his questioning as to why his 'younger' brother had even signed up for such a class, since it was clear that his passion lied elsewhere. That was probably why it was his minor not his major…but still. At first he thought nothing of it, Allelujah sitting down on his still out futon and asking what he was doing. He didn't bother telling him, since it was clear that he was trying to strike up a conversation so he could weasel whatever it was he needed to say in. So instead of dragging out some kind of long and completely unnecessary dialogue, the 'elder' Haptism just flat-out asked if there was something that needed to be said…if not he needed to leave.

Of course a silence followed that statement, because Allelujah was the kind of person who thought about what he was going to say before he even said it. But the amount of time it took him to actually get a single word out was alarming, seeing that his brother was usually quick on his feet (well…as quick as the 'younger' Haptism could be). He was amazed that he actually had to patience to wait and see what the other wanted to say, because if it was anyone else Hallelujah would've kicked them out without a second thought. But no…it was his brother…someone who wasn't just anyone. Even if he hated his naïve way of thinking, how oblivious he was to the obvious…Allelujah was still his little brother and, dare he say it, he loved him. The 'elder' Haptism was pleased that there was someone the exact opposite of him in everyway, and even more pleased that he could actually stand said person.

He was his only family member…the only one he could turn to when in need (even though he didn't usually do so). So it was only fair that he'd have to listen to what he had to say, and as he waited patiently his mind began to fathom just why the other can walked into his room. There was no way it had something to do with photography, because his brother always managed to half-ass some kind of project together at the last minute. So if that wasn't the deal…could it have been a personal problem? If there was one thing he hated more then anything else…it was people complaining about personal problems. There was nothing worse then listening to people whine about this and that, and yes he did know people needed to speak to others about their problems from time to time…

JUST NOT TO HIM, DAMMIT! He was not the kind of person who would be the shoulder to cry on, oh no, and he would not hide this fact at all. Hallelujah didn't know why people wanted to confide in him (even though it was usually just the Dylandy twins and his brother), but don't get him wrong…there was a difference between venting and just down right whining. For example…Lyle whined. On and on, and on he went about how his relationship with the youngest was not the same as his brother's. Well hell! Of course it wasn't! If indeed the relationship he had with Setsuna was the same, wouldn't the smallest of the three become jaded? And was that not the main reason Setsuna liked the both of them? _Because _they were so diverse? And really…that was the reason the younger male liked BOTH Dylandy twins.

In the 'elder' Haptism eyes it was the reason Setsuna had not decided to completely abandon one for the other; since the two were so vastly different the younger male shared two completely different bonds with each of them, and those bonds were strong enough to make the thought of leaving just one heartbreaking. However…if the Dylandy twins were indeed the same, right down to their likes and behaviors, the youngest would without a doubt pick one while leaving the other out to dry. Of course he tried to tell Lyle this…but it came out as 'shut up and be happy', which was basically everything he wanted to say in a nutshell. It was just who he was…his mind would say one thing while his mouth decided it was too much and needed to be 'Hallelujahfied'.

With the other Dylandy twin, Lockon, he didn't do such a thing…mainly because he knew if he made even the slightest slip up the older male would pick on him for liking Tieria. That evil bastard…if only he didn't know about his crush…but he did, and there really wasn't much he could do about it. Setsuna obviously had a few speculations, but seeing that his hubby didn't want him involved he told him to drop the subject. That was a nice thing to do…seeing that the 'elder' Haptism didn't want to commit a double homicide. He wanted to kill that smug ass! _Never_ had anyone held anything over his head like that, and it was the first time in his life where he was on the other end of the spectrum. Someone was messing with _**him**_…it was just unheard of.

When his brother actually began to speech he placed his camera down, as a sign of respect and a sign that he was truly listening. Allelujah took a deep sigh, and that was another telltale signal that whatever he had to say was serious. His tone was low, making him somewhat difficult to hear, but Hallelujah didn't say a word as his brother's venting began…

And _**fuck**_ did he regret it. When he heard the phrase 'I think I might be in love with an old friend', that was it…he didn't want to hear anymore. It truly was only a matter of time before his brother's feeling for the second youngest came to be, and even though he knew this…he still couldn't control the anger that was starting to build inside of him. It wasn't fair…why did he have to fall for the same person his brother had? It wasn't right! He didn't want to hate his brother, but it was becoming very clear that he wasn't going to have a choice if things continued on the way they were.

So what did he do? Lock himself away from human contact of course! It really was the only thing he could've done to prevent himself from snapping at the wrong people, which was the last thing he wanted. It was an anti-social way of going about daily life, but it wasn't like he was ALL contact was cut of. It was impossible for him to completely lock himself away from the people he knew, and since he still needed to work on his project during his 'lockdown' leaving was a given. If he did come in contact with anyone, the conversation didn't last more then two minutes. The 'elder' Haptism kept everything short and to the point, never saying more then 'yes', 'no', 'whatever', or 'don't care'.

And that was how it stayed for quite some time, Hallelujah focusing on his project and really nothing else. It was amazing just how many photos he took over that span of time, each never looking like another, and it didn't take being a genius to figure out it was due to the amount of focus he was putting into his work. Obviously he was asked a little too often if he was alright, because it really was a rare thing for him to be in _full _workaholic mode. Yes his friends did care about him, and yes he didn't want to worry them…but he also needed a little thinking time.

Just because he was taking pictures did not mean he was paying attention, because his mind had other important things to pounder. Why did such a fate have to be bestowed upon him? Granted he was in love, but stealing his brother's crush was out of the question. Hallelujah knew that interfering with something that had been set up well before his feelings surfaced was a no-no, but…he didn't want to be left alone after so long. In the long run the truth of the matter was this…both he and his brother were heading in two different directions, so not only would he be losing his friends but his only true family member. He might've come across as a bit of an ass to others, but he did value their companionship more then anything else. To be alone in the world was…wrong, and he wasn't even sure how he'd handle things when said outcome would occur.

Hallelujah needed someone to be with him, and not just some short fling that he wouldn't even remember the name of days later. He needed (and it was amazing that he actually admitted this to himself) someone to…_love_. God, it was annoying how soft he'd grown over the years! Love? Really? There was a time when all he needed was food, liquid and someone to mess with! But age definitely had something to do with it, and he knew as time went on that it would only get worse. It was what his body was telling him, that there was something missing in his life and it needed to be found before time ran out.

After being so content with his mood, working so diligently on his project in the process and coming so close to the end…he heard it. The 'elder' Haptism knew that Tieria had come over because the walls in the house were not what one would call thick, so the sound of his brother and the younger male's voices easily carried into his room. It was slightly annoying but he ignored it and tried to focus his attention on the task at hand; scattered on the floor around him were the pictures he needed, nothing out of place and nothing he needed to add.

A wave of smugness began to overtake him, because he had never seen himself take such high quality photographs before. Everything was perfect, the angles, the lighting, everything…and he was sure some kind of horrible fate was about to befall him. Whenever something wonderful would happen, something horrible and with equal weight would always occur. The project he worked on meant a lot to him, seeing that it was the final project before the break and would factor into just how hard he needed to work upon returning to school. So what did that mean?

It meant his entire world needed to crumble…and it certainly seemed that way when he heard the words from the room next to his. _'Tieria, I-I think we should d-'_ that was enough…He acted without thinking, wanting nothing more then to stop something he shouldn't have. The 'elder' Haptism cursed, cursed loud enough that it was sure to wake up his drunken mother a few doors down. But he didn't care…his body was telling him that it needed to be stopped, that his brother was being selfish and inconsiderate. However…Hallelujah knew damn well it was he who was being selfish. The second oldest hated how much his 'love' had corrupted him, had sent his mind into such a spiral that just looking at the person of his affections would send such a sharp pain through his chest.

This was why as the young Erde entered his room, obviously wanting some kind of explanation, he only gave him a split second glance. Shame was all he felt, and shame was the only thing he could felt as the other spoke to him. He wanted the younger male, but at the same time hated him for turning him into something that was so unlike his former self. He was at a crossroads and there was no turning back once he finally decided to take a route…he would end up letting what he wanted go forever or hurting his brother in a way he never had. It was a decision he didn't want to make, but it was too late for him to turn around and forget about everything.

And in the end…he chose the latter option. Enough was enough…his brother had years to pursue the second youngest, years to see that there was chemistry between them that couldn't be denied. Allelujah's time was up…and as much as it pained to say it, it was now time for him to chase after something he was sure would be unobtainable. So the lies started…first it was the lie about how he had royal screwed over his project, and basically seeing if the other would offer any help (which he surprisingly did). Then there was the photo he took of him near the forest, which he had no intentions of using for his project in the slightest. Hallelujah kept it for himself, because it was the only one he had that featured _**only**_ Tieria in the frame. It was amazing just how beautiful one person could look while not posing…

And from there on the lies just began to flow, all of them in some way distracting the second youngest from his brother and make it so _they_ were the ones spending time together. That was exactly how the two of them ended up in the situation they were currently in…They were currently trying to prepare dinner for the evening, and he knew that it was rather hazardous to have the second youngest in the kitchen at all. But he endured a few scorched dishes since it was the first time the two of them had even attempted to be in the same kitchen together, and he was trying his damn hardest to not be too harsh on the younger male. To be blunt…he sucked at cooking, and the slightly older male wasn't sure if it was because of his lack of experience due to whatever the hell was going on in that house of his, or because he just never had talent in the first place.

He hated that place…and he was pleased that during break Tieria had decided that staying over would be in his best interest. So both he and his brother helped move his (_extremely_ heavy) bags into their guest room, because he couldn't really sleep in his brother's room _all_ the time. So there he would stay until school started up again, and it just made things even more nerve-racking. The fact that the second youngest was sleeping only a few doors away, not in his brother's room or in that god-awful house of his, made sleeping quit a task in itself for him. It wasn't like he wanted to do anything to him, he had more control then that…but it was such a strange change from what he was use to. To physically enter that room had become impossible, because that would be stepping over a boundary that wasn't meant to be at that moment in time. If he wasn't asked he wouldn't enter, those were the rules and he would follow them…

Funny wasn't it…that moment that damn annoyance moves in his behavior starts to change. The 'elder' Haptism tried to make it seem as if there was nothing wrong with him, but it was increasing harder as he became more and more exposed to the younger male. The more time he spent with him the more…comfortable he began to felt…and that was not good. If he felt more comfortable, like the two of them were actually friends, he would be more inclined to confess. Doing something like that so soon would ruin things…but if he did say something Allelujah would most likely try and make his move again. So there was another decision on his hands…wait and lose everything or finally fess up to his feelings. God, he should've just kept his mouth shut that day! If he had he wouldn't have to make so many hard decisions!

"Oi! I'm talking to you!"

Shit, he'd done it again…over the passed few days his mind had been so caught up in 'shoulds' and 'coulds' that he would stare of into space and ignore what was going on around him. Basically he would pull a Setsuna.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, what is it?" He said, rubbing the back of his neck slightly.

"Is there anyway to salvage rice?"

"You over cooked the rice? How did you do that? There's a damn timer on it!"

One…two…three…four…that's right; he just needed to calm down and count to ten or twenty. It did help him from getting too pissed off, but there really wasn't any way to prevent him from _completely _going off at the other. Sighing ever so slightly, he told the second youngest that soft rice was fine, because making another batch would take too long. An obvious look of disappointment crossed Tieria's face, and without much thought he placed his hand on top of his head, leaving it motionless.

"Really, it's nothing to worry about…if no one eats it we'll just make onigiri, okay?" Hallelujah muttered, making the last bit of what he said in a range that humans could not hear properly. The other made a small 'I'm not a child' comment, but he did not swat his hand away.

He too had changed…his verbal and physical abuse was not as harsh as it'd been in the past, and the number of fights the two of them usually got in had gone down dramatically. No one said a word about this, because for the others he knew they were enjoying the peace, he was sure of it. It was a little strange, because, well…after so many years of the same thing to actually go out of the 'norm' made things seem a little different. It was an adjustment that needed some getting use to, but he was a little hesitant with all of this change. Scared was what he felt…knowing that everything around him was caused by a few little lies. Oh the power of little lies…if it could do this much, what would the truth do? Would it bring nothing but misfortune? Or would it only further his wishful thinking?

Yeah…that's all his little situation was…So what if the two of them hung out more? So what if tried to be a little more merciful with his actions? What the hell would become of it? There was no telling if his feelings would be returned, and given the younger male's personality there was no way he'd even think of anyone else besides Allelujah. But…that's why he was trying so damn hard, going out of his way to act like someone his friends had never seen before. So really…wasn't he even lying to himself? This wasn't who he was, not some count-to-twenty idiot who actually said nice things to just attract someone. No, he was Hallelujah Haptism, the kid that didn't give damn what others thought of him. But…he wasn't a kid anymore…the slightly older male was growing up and that meant another change was coming.

Maturity. No, no, no, he didn't want to become an adult! If he did…he was afraid of the kind of person he'd be. He knew who the kid inside of him was…but what about the adult? He couldn't be that 'screw the world!' person he currently was forever, so when he actually did need to grow up what would that person be like? Would he be the workaholic type that was home maybe once or twice a week? That was the kind the person he wholeheartedly did not wish to become, since it was the same type his father was… The 'elder' Haptism in no way wanted to be like that man; spending days away from the person he held dear, never really being there, and making that person suffer was out of the question. But who's to say that he wouldn't end up like that?

Or maybe he'd a useless NEET, some slacker that did nothing after collage and lived with his brother (or lover…yeah right) for support. That would've been even worse! At least if he was a workaholic he'd get paid! This was the worst…the future didn't look so bright anymore, and he wasn't sure if there was a damn thing he could do about.

"God, are you okay?" Tieria asked, sounding a bit…concerned? Why did he sound concerned?

"Huh?"

"You're bleeding…"

Looking down at his hand, the one that was holding the carrot that was supposed to be apart of the curry they were make while his other hand chopped, and what do you know…he'd cut himself. It didn't look deep, but there still seemed to be quite a bit of blood. Of course him being lost in thought was the cause, and it really made him wonder just how the hell Setsuna went through the same thing _everyday_. It really seemed like it caused quite a few mishaps…Cursing a little Hallelujah left the kitchen, swiftly making his way to the nearest bathroom (which thankfully was on the first floor, where he was currently located). Because fights were a common thing in his life, of course every bathroom was stocked full of bandages and alcohol. So it didn't take long for him to pop in and find what he needed…though there was a small problem that had followed him into the bathroom.

"Oi, um…are you alright? You're being more of an idiot then usual…" The second youngest asked, making him look over at him slightly. Of course he could just state the obvious and go back to what he was doing…but no…his feet stayed planted. It was because of that look on the other's face, the look of _actual_ concern. It was almost unnoticeable but it was there, and it was truly the first time that look had been directed at him.

Oh no…it was all for Allelujah, all of it. It didn't bother him much when younger, but until that very moment when that look was finally pointed in his direction…he felt something. That wasn't good; for him to feel something meant that he wanted to act, wanted to do something that would jeopardize his chances of getting closer to the younger male. Dammit, couldn't his hormones be kept in control for a little longer?

"…Oi, come here for a minute."

"Why-"

"Just do it…"

No…no! What the hell he saying? 'Come here'? That was just inviting misfortune to walk right into the situation, screwing him over and making all of his efforts useless. It was all a matter of control, and as of right now he was losing it. But the biggest 'what the hell' moment had to go to Tieria who, surprisingly, was in the process of complying with his wishing. Why now…why now? Why did he have to play 'obedient friend' at that moment? Why didn't he just blow him off like he usually did? God, this was bad and the second youngest was just making it worse. He was right there, right in front of him, and it was taking everything in Hallelujah power to keep himself under control.

"Well, what is it? What did you want? I don't know where the Band-Aids are, so-"

"Forget it, I'm leaving…" The second oldest said, pushed the other out of his way as he left the bathroom. Of course he was getting out of it that easily, so he wasn't at all that surprised when he was followed. He tried to tell the other to leave, but all he was given was a sharp 'no' followed by 'why are you acting weird?' He wasn't acting weird, dammit! He was just trying to flee and clear his head…and there was only one place he could do that.

The bus stop. Of course he wasn't going to catch it, just sit and clear his head a little. He'd be joined by his fur ball of a cat, like always, who managed to survive the cold in unknown ways because the older male could not for the life of him find that damn thing whenever he ventured out into the forest to look for it out of concern (it _was_ cold after all). It was actually the frightening when he was younger, wandering the forest for an half an hour as he called the cat's name, having not a clue where it could've run off it. But in the end he found that the white feline (who blended perfectly into the snowy background he might add) make it's way over to him as he contemplated if going to the town was necessary near the bus stop, since issues dealing with the cat in general were directed to Graham.

After awhile he figured out that his 'pet' was in no danger, leaving it be during the chilly months and visiting it when he needed to clear his mind from whatever was ailing him. He needed to do such a thing now, right now, because his body was on the verge of betraying him in the worst way.

"Hallelujah Haptism, you speak to me right now!"

God no, not his full name…why was he calling him by his full name? The second oldest had learned that over the years that name had made him obedient to the ones he knew, allowing whoever used it to basically turn him into a dog. It was all thanks to his mother, who, during her rare chances of actually showing she was a fit to be a parent, would call him by his full name making him stop dead in his tracks. It was the tone of her voice in general that made him stop, because it was one he didn't hear very often…pure _**demand**_. Because of this his body just responded to anyone who called his full name in such a tone, but no…that wasn't the tone he used.

Tieria wouldn't have gotten under his skin so badly if only he had used the familiar 'I'm going to kill you' voice that he was so very use to, but no, he had to use the 'I'm worried' tone mixed with a little 'stop you bastard!'…which he did. Upon turning around he saw that look once again, the one that was never given to him while the two of them were much younger. Why now…the door was right in front of him, his coat was handing on the coat rack and his shoes were mere inches away.

He was so close…but it just wasn't meant to be.

"What is your problem? I know you're weird and all, but really-"

God he just wanted him to shut up…so he did what he body wanted even though he knew the outcome would be far from desired. Roughly taking the younger male's chin into his hand, he pressed his lips again his and prayed to all the gods that he didn't get the living hell beaten out of him. But upon feeling the other completely stiffen up (making him believe he was kissing a wooden plank), Hallelujah knew he wasn't in any sort of immediate danger. The second youngest was obviously too shocked to do anything, which just meant his beating would come somewhere down the road.

He was only against the other's lips for a minute or two, and within those few second he felt…happy. But even through that happiness disgust started to set in; this was still the person his brother loved, and no matter how much denial he put himself in the fact of the matter was that the person he was kissing would probably never love in the same fashion as Allelujah. Fucking great…now he felt horrible. Slowly parting, he knew what he was going to do next would definitely changed the course of everything…but hell, he was already on a roll!

"I like you…more then you probably think, but…" The second oldest started, "My brother likes you too…"

Not wanting to stay around any longer he retrieved both his coat and shoes, slipping them on before he actually left the house. The 'elder' Haptism didn't look back, didn't even think about looking back…he just walked on as if nothing really mattered. His mind felt pretty blank, not focusing on anything as his feet carried him to the bus stop he knew so well. The further he got away from that house, the better he felt, but the emptiness in his chest just grew with each step.

He had to wonder slightly if one of his friends would've been willing take him in for a little, because it was clear that setting foot in that house after such an event would only cause tension between everyone involved. That would've been too much for everyone, and to lessen the blow he thought if his presence was nowhere to be found his brother and the second youngest could work something out. God, he was going to be alone for the rest of his life, he was sure of it…but it wasn't like it was a shock. Even when little the thought of being with another didn't seem real to him, and his current position was proof enough of that.

He was alone…hell, even as he approached the bus stop he could not see a single soul around. It wasn't unusually given the time of day, but the fact still remained that he was the one person around. Stretching himself along the length of the bench, he placed his arms behind his head to provide himself with something other then the cold wood to rest against. The semi-enclosed stop prevented the snow that fell from actually hitting him, but he could clearly see the small specks gracefully falling to the Earth from the corner of his eye. He'd taken pictures of the snow the first day it began to fall, because there was nothing more beautiful then the sight of the first snowfall of the season. Even he knew that in such an ugly world true beauty did exist, and it was one of reasons he decided to get into photography.

He didn't want the horrible things he thought about people to be true, didn't want the world to be filled with nothing but greedy people out to screw over others, so…he decided to capture those people in their most natural of habitats. Yes, it did sound like he was take photos of a bunch of animals, but it was the only way he could prove that his way of thinking was wrong. He managed to capture the one thing his mind refused to believe existed in the world anymore…innocence. Humans were horrible creatures, but yet nothing that could actually back that statement up was present in the vast number of pictures he took. They were the only thing he owned that proved that the world did indeed look different then he thought, and it was the reason he found a deeper meaning to something most considered a 'hobby'.

"I'm so goddamn pathetic…" He muttered to himself, knowing it was the truth but not meaning to say it out loud. This wasn't who he was, not some good-for-nothing depressed person who felt sorry for himself. Where had that 'don't give a shit' person gone? Had he died? No…that didn't seem right, if that person had really died there would've been nothing left of him, and seeing that he was still there meant that piece of him was stored away in some deep part of his psyche.

But when the _hell_ was that person going to come back? The 'elder' Haptism hated to the new him with a passion, mainly because it was so damn close to his brother's personality. He didn't want to be Allelujah, he wanted to be Hallelujah, Hallelujah dammit! He didn't want to be like someone else…he wanted to be him! His love for another was the cause of it all, and he was too far gone to do anything about it. So he would probably stay as the pitiful mess of a human being he currently was until something was done, and just what that something was he wasn't sure.

Turning over on his side, he closed his eyes and tried to calm himself a bit. His mind was racing, thoughts conflicted and scattered so much so that forming a single coherent idea was a hassle. There was a deep burning inside of his chest, one that he wasn't familiar with and only became worse when he thought about _that _person. He constantly on his mind, everything was about him, Tieria was the only thing he could focus on…and it hurt. Love was a horrible feeling, one that caused so much unimaginable pain that one needed to actually experience it to understand. But…the Dylandy twins didn't seem like they were in pain…was it because they had actually mananged to obtain the person they were pursuing?

If that was the case…did that mean he'd be this way until the second youngest fell for him? Oh god no…no, no, no, he couldn't stand that! He'd rather die then wait! Groaning a little he ruffled his hair, feeling so frustrated with the whole situation.

"Nii-san, you shouldn't lie down like that in such cold weather."

Karma truly was a bitch…the one person he didn't want to talk to, the one he had screwed over severely, had walked up to him…holding his cat. Well that did answer the question of where the little fur ball had gone, but it was a little strange. His cat hated everyone except him, constantly hissing at strangers and friends alike and never allowing anyone but him to touch him, let alone pick him up. But why all of a sudden was he acting so out of character? Had he…abruptly come to dislike him? Great, not only was he not allowed to come home, but his own _goddamn_ cat has disowned him…just _**great**_.

Turning over the other way, he decided that the best course of action was to ignore him and hope he took the hint. Of course that didn't happen…his brother just sat on the edge of the bench, and though he did not see it, Hallelujah knew his face was deep in thought.

"He told me what happened…" The 'younger' Haptism started, "And I'm kinda relieved-"

What? _What_? Relieved? Who the hell felt relieved after hearing about their brother kissing their crush-

"I was really worried about you, but now that I know you're just love-sick I understand."

Worried? Love-sick? What…what? Why didn't he sound mad? Why was he worried about him? God, this was making his head hurt…But it was Allelujah after all, and his way of going about things was far from what one would considered normal. He was the optimistic twin, the one that always saw he good in all living things and overlooked the horrible qualities of them. Yeah…that's the kind of person he was, but…he needed to get mad every now and then. Especially now…especially since this involved the one person he had months ago confessed to liking. Still not wanting to face him, the 'older' Haptism just muttered if the other was upset with him in any way, because truth he had betrayed his brother's trust.

When he was given a small 'hm' he couldn't help but sit up; this was the kind of situation where being mad was completely acceptable, and he knew his brother capable of becoming upset. Just as he turned around, about to tell the other that he was being an idiot of epic proportions, a fist collided with his cheek, forcing him to topple down to the rather firm and frozen Earth. Of course he winced; having the stinging cold weather against his now heated cheek was not a pleasant feeling, but instead of crying out in pain he felt like laughing.

It was the first time in all his years that his brother had intentionally struck him, and even though was in pain it was dulled by the absolute astonishment he felt. Pulling himself to his knees Hallelujah rubbed his cheek a little, finally feeling that his brother had at last given the right reaction to a situation. Damn, he had one mean right hook…and to further prove his point the sudden taste of a metallic substance in his mouth clearly told him that he was bleeding. Had it had been someone else, he would've gladly gotten up and beaten them senseless, but no, it was his brother who had hit him…so what was he to do?

"I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to knock you over." Allelujah said, extending his hand as an obvious offer for the other to take it.

"Don't apologize for hitting someone…especially when they deserve it." He muttered mostly to himself, hesitating for a moment before taking his brother's hand. The 'elder' Haptism sat next to the other, neither of them saying a word. So awkward…just sitting next to his 'younger' brother was nerve racking, and knowing that he knew about what had gone on in the house was not helping anything. He probably hated him, probably despised him for stealing away something he'd dreamed about. Tieria's first kiss…How did he know it was his first? He didn't…but given the younger male's personality it didn't seem like there were many willing enough to actually get that close to him.

That's the kind of person he was…a hardass who didn't take shit from anyone. But that was just on the outside; to those who knew him, those who had spent years around him, knew the truth. He was probably the most vulnerable person they knew…the way he always clung to his brother like he was his one and only lifeline, told him things no other was supposed to know, and looked so absolutely relaxed whenever he was around…said quit a lot. His outer appearance was a lie, plain and simple, one build up over the years due to his mistreatment from the people in his household.

That child, Tieria Erde, though his pain remained hidden from the world his invisible scars were very clear to Hallelujah. Was…that the reason he had fallen for the second youngest? Because he was like a wounded animal that needed care and attention? No…that didn't seem right, there had to have been another reason for his feelings. Maybe he was just plain envious, seeing his brother in what looked liked a wonderful situation might just have pissed him off…so he wanted it as well. But that too didn't seem right…so why? Why the hell was he in love with that person?

The 'elder' Haptism was snapped back to reality when his brother began to speak, and it only seemed right to listen to what he had to say. Big mistake. Allelujah told him that he had suspected his brother of lusting after the second youngest for some time, seeing that the two had began to become 'close'. He continued on saying that the sheer absurdity of such a scenario had occurred to him, linking his 'older' brother's odd behavior to some kind of mental disorder such as depression…but he was proven wrong.

"When Tieria told me what you did, I felt kinda stunned. I didn't feel upset or angry, but then I saw you here I just…" He said as he started to trail on, most likely searching for what he really wanted to say. But that never came…so the two sat in silence once more.

This was probably the only time he couldn't even look at his 'younger' brother, because no matter how hard he tried to hid it the pain he felt would always be written all over his face. Everything was his fault, and Hallelujah wasn't sure they would never be put right. This change was the worst of the worst…maybe moving out really was the only solution.

"So…what do we do, Nii-san?"

"I…don't know…I really don't…"

* * *

This was not the scene he wanted to wake up to…not at all. Just because the room was nicely heated, _did not_ give his husband the right to change out in the open! That's why they had a bathroom! That day had started off in a slightly…sexual manner, so it probably shouldn't have come as too much of a surprise that it would end on such a note.

Setsuna had awaked that day feeling odd, as if staying in bed was the best option and getting out would only lead to events he couldn't undo. But he ignored such a feeling, not wanted to slack off even though it was his break. He would, however, admit that the amount of energy he put into his daily chores had gone down slightly, allowing for more free time during the day. Of course it had something to do with the conversion (more like confession) he had with the oldest, admitting that there was something horribly wrong with him and just what it was remained unknown to him. He acknowledged the fact that he could not handle such a burden by himself, and that asking for help would benefit him in the long run. At least he wasn't alone anymore…

That's what it felt like when he withheld things from his husband…that he was alone because he couldn't tell the other a thing. If he didn't talk to him, why should he even be around him? If he didn't communicate on some level with him, tell him things others weren't supposed to know…why should they even be together? That was one of the many things he thought about on that swing _that_ day…the day he walked out on Lockon for confronting him about his suspicions. Was it wrong of him to just up and leave? Yes. Did it make him feel ten times worst about himself? Absolutely…But it was the first time he'd ever heard his husband actually stand up to him, and really it was _about time_.

As much as he liked how devoted the oldest was to him, the fact that he always allowed him to do whatever annoyed the hell out of him. Setsuna never said a thing, but he wanted the other to be more forceful when it came to their 'arguments'. Hell, they couldn't even be called that…really they were nothing but one sided conversation that his husband was _guaranteed_ to lose. Many people around his age would've loved something like that, especially if the 'weak' person just happened to be their parents…but the youngest wasn't like that. Yes, he did take advantage of the situation, but the regret he felt only grew as time went on.

Of course he didn't want some controlling husband that barely allowed him to do anything, hit him when he did something wrong, and guilted him into staying with him, that was in no way what he wanted. What he did desire was for the other to hold his own, to act like he was the _older male_ in the relationship and tell him 'no' once in awhile. But when he was actually given what he desired the youngest didn't know how to react, and as such decided that leaving was the only thing he could do. He needed time to take it all in, and with the added pain of leaving at such a critical moment in their conversation he couldn't help but feel his chest sink.

Upon leaving the apartment he did not need to question where he wanted to go…instead he allowed his feet to carry him to a place that he knew well. The swing in the park brought him comfort, allowed him to see the world as it truly was because his vision could so easily become distorted when riled up. He didn't want to view the world like he use to, and when human affection could not ease the distrust that was building up inside of him he knew where he needed to go. Upon finding his refuge there was no one around, no children, no couples, nothing. That was the way he liked it. Taking a seat on one of the twin swings, he began to contemplate just what the world meant to him. Years ago he found out just what the 'world' was for him…and for him it was not the massive amount of people that populated Earth.

His 'world' consisted of those close to him. Humans needed friendship and without such a thing his whole existence would amount to nothing, so why did he need to keep them on a need to know basis? Getting them involved with his problems would only bring them down as well, but…sometimes there were things he couldn't handle on is own. School…his own mental state….these were things he wanted to keep out of the daylight, away from the people he cared about. But…he needed to break such a habit. His breakdown in the school bathroom told him that much, and his behavior after the fact only reinforced it. To feel so empty, to feel numb to everything around him…that brought back one too many unwanted memories. His husband confronting him was probably the best thing that happened to him during those dreadful days (though the youngest didn't act like it), and he would be forever grateful to him.

So…didn't that mean he owed him something? A reward was in order, and to tell the oldest what was going on in his life seemed to only fair given the situation. But would that be possible? To tell him everything, the torture he received at school on a daily basis, how he would something have random bouts where he would feel nothing but worthlessness, _**everything**_…that was a big step. Time was needed with something like that…which was exactly what he told the older male once he'd found him. It was a promise…and from that moment on he began to psyche himself up for what was to come. He was going to open up to him, something he also needed to sorely work on.

That morning he noticed something slightly different about his sleeping position; yes, he did sleep next to his husband, but for some reason he felt…closer then usual. Now at that point he hadn't actually opened his eyes yet, so he was basing all of this solely on how things usually felt upon regaining his consciousness. Opening his eyes ever so slightly, Setsuna found himself against the older male's chest… something he was use to. However…that was something _very_ wrong with their situation. He was well aware of the fact that he did on occasion move around in his sleep, leading to waking up in positions he didn't remember falling asleep in.

That was exactly what had happened, and it was beyond awkward. Somehow he had moved himself on top of Lockon, legs straddling his waist and hands tangled in his hair. His husband was still very much asleep, head to the side as he muttered something under his breath. That was a minor detail…what he was much more concerned about was just _where_ the older male's hands were.

Lockon Stratos' hands were on his…_cheeks_…and not the ones on his face. His body instantly tensed up upon finding out such a horrible fact, and to make matters worse he had finally deciphered what the other male was muttered. His name. His husband was calling out his name and touching him…if that didn't deserve a slap he didn't know what did. But there was slight problem with such an action; the older male was in no way a heavy sleeper (nor a horribly light sleeper), so upon striking him the reaction was…not the desired one.

The hands that were limply place on his…_cheeks_…suddenly grabbed them, causing the younger male to jerk forward rather violently. The sound that emitted was one only heard when the two of them were alone, hidden away from the world in a place very few knew of. However, it seemed wrong to compare that sound to the one he had made upon being groped; when the oldest would attack his neck, licking, sucking, and nipping at it, the sound would only be muffled, small. But when he was grabbed…it sounded as if he was craving it. That needed to stop, so without much hesitation he pushed himself away from the other, backing up until it was apparent that he had hit the wall behind him.

Setsuna didn't want to feel such things when being touched in such a way, not yet. His body was shaking slightly, as if it was already going through withdrawal and was already craving more. No…he needed to hold himself back and keep himself from thinking or feeling things he truly desired. His husband noticed his state of distress and come to his aid, but he was the last person the youngest wanted to help him. The older male asked if he was alright, and being the liar that he was he responded with a hasty yes. He would stop that habit in due time, but at that moment it only seemed appropriate to do so. Knowing that the next best thing was to begin his daily route (since it would take his mind off of being groped), he quickly excused himself and made his way over to the closet.

He needed to retrieve Lyle form his room, and he knew he couldn't very well do that in only his boxes and a tank-top (though of course he probably would've loved that). So he quickly retrieving a pair on jeans and slipped them on, ignoring his husband's 'are you sure alright?' comments. The youngest would be fine as soon as he stepped out of the room, just wanting to forget what had happened to him. Before actually leaving he picked up the key to the other Dylandy's room off of the wall, the small object daggling off of a nail placed there by his husband. It was merely for convenience since keys could so easily be lost, and just because their apartment wasn't all that spacious did not mean it was an exception.

There was no need to knock at all, since he knew the other was either asleep or just waking up. Both Dylandy twins shared the same sleeping pattern, sometimes it would be easy to wake them and sometime it was a challenge. It was annoying to say the least, but he dealt with it regardless. Upon opening the door he was greeted with the Lyle running his fingers through his hair, looking as if he was just breaking away from his unconscious state. It was a little unnerving to know that he himself had something to do with the twin's dreams at least ninety percent of the time, and just what direction those dreams took was something he never once pondered. He already knew after all.

Going over, he kneeled at his side and shook him slightly to help him regain full consciousness. Seeing that it was indeed break, the younger male was a bit more lenient when it came to sleeping in. But on occasion it was important that the three woke up around the same time they usually did on a normal school day, because resetting their internal clock would take far too long. The older male placed his head in his lap and mumbled, it sounded like 'five more minutes' or something along those lines. Shaking him again he received the desired response and Lyle was up, stretching as he yawned. Setsuna shook his head slightly, knowing that if he didn't get the older male's batteries started he would just fall back to asleep.

The easiest thing he could do was simply talk to him, and within that time fame if he managed to get something hot on the stove he'd take it from there. It was a simple plan and one he intended to carry out…until he spotted something quite _sinister_ in the corner of the room. Now he could've ignored such a thing, its small back form just standing as if it didn't care one bit about it's surrounding, but…he couldn't. It twitch, moving ever so slightly while he felt his entire body stiffen up, and even though he could hear Lyle's voice calling his name it was the furthest thing from his mind. An irrational fear had taken over his body, one that only the Dylandy twins knew about because he had confessed it to them many moons ago.

Arachnophobia was what its name…and while in Lyle's room he saw the creature of his nightmares just _sitting_ in the goddamn corner. His rational mind was screaming at him, telling him that it was such a small spider and that it was in no way going to harm him. _But to hell with his rational mind_…His irrational mind was told him that the beast was staring at him, watching him and plotting his downfall because, hell, that's what those bastards did. It must have smelt his fear, because the next thing it did was begin it's ascent up the wall. It didn't take the youngest long to cling to the other male's shirt, making a small sound that sounded like a cross between a squeak and yelp.

His fear steamed from no real reason, the small creature just never sat well with him even when young. Snakes, birds, dogs, bugs, all of those things did not get him riled up…but for some goddamn reason whenever he saw a spider anywhere near him he'd freak. It was hard to keep his composer when around 'normal' people, or even friends for that matter. The Dylandy twins were the only two that knew. To fear something so small, to allow it to cripple him to the point of almost wanting to flee was embarrassing. Only they could know…because they had already seen his vulnerable side during one of his 'freak outs' so there was really no hiding it from them. Of course they accepted it, because no one in their right mind would completely deny a person because they were afraid of something.

Everyone feared one thing or another…even if they weren't willing to admit it up front. However, the twins seemed to have more logical and rational reasons for the things that scared them, instead of the 'I just don't like it' excuse. For his husband it was bees since he was deathly allergic to them, meaning he could easily die from just one sting. This was the very reason why the youngest took it upon himself to kill any and all of the small yellow insects that fell in his line of sight, especially during the summer. The irony that came with the older male's fear was that he worked at a _flower shop_, bringing the risk of getting himself stung even higher. But incest repent was his friend after all.

For Lyle it was going too far into the stream in the village, because it apparently brought back memories of the incident that had taken place there when they were children. He hated talking about it…and just the mere mention of it would drive the older male out of the room. It was completely understandable, seeing that what had gone on that morning stayed with everyone involved…Lyle just happened to let it affect him more then it did his brother, the 'elder' Haptism, and himself. There was a certain amount of blame the older male put on himself for every little thing that went wrong around him, so of course if something like the youngest almost drowning would occur the first thing he would do would be to point out what he could've done to either prevent or stop it from becoming worse.

But he was only human…

Burying his face in the older male's chest, he muttered that he 'needed to kill it NOW'. When asked what, he immediately point in the general direction of the black beast. Looking over the fiend had managed to reach the ceiling…and was about to repel itself using its ass string. Yes, he did know but the appropriate terms was, but Setsuna could've cared less and had moved himself behind Lyle as a means to shield his body from the large black spot dangling dangerously close to them. He begged, pleaded for the other to do something about the impending doom hanging from the ceiling, and after about his third or fourth 'NOW!' he head a loud '_**BAM**_' echo throughout the room.

He was afraid of looking up, but knew if he didn't the truth would never be revealed to him. Taking a small peek over the older male's shoulder he saw that the black menace was no long hanging from the ceiling, and seeing that the English dictionary that was next to Lyle had made it way across the room…he didn't need to ask questions. It wasn't until he took a few minutes to actually regain his composer that he noticed just how close he was to the other, body pressed against the older male so much so that he could feel the heat coming off of him (which felt quit nice in the slightly chilled room). For the second time that day he had placed himself in an awkward situation, one that made emotions begin to surface that should not have been there just yet.

And it only became worse as the day went on…It was as if some invisible force was leading him to into situations that would raise his…want and need. He had it under control, his thoughts about_that_ subject remained at a minimum…until that day. The bumps, the touched, and the looks become much more intense, so much so that Setsuna thought that maybe separating himself from the twins was the best thing until he managed to get himself in some kind of calm state. He was a wreck…there was no way he could function around 'normal' people properly if he didn't get his head straight. The younger male's usual composer seemed lost, as if it had decided to take a vacation and was not going to be seen for…hell, he didn't know.

Had his hormones finally gotten the better of him? Had they finally taken over his teenage body, sending his mind into a confused state about what he _wanted _to do and what he _couldn't _do? It's was a pretty simple thing…his body _wanted_ him to sleep with his husband, but he knew he _couldn't_ because he was not mentally prepared for something like that. His body was screaming at him for pleasure, but he denied it such a thing because he knew it was impossible for him to handle that kind of stress. Of course it was stressful! How would he tell his friends? How the hell would he tell his parents? To keep the fact that he had…_sex_ with the older male was secret would eat him alive, he was sure of it.

There was no way in hell he could tell anyone! It was called 'intimate' for a reason! His mind was in a tizzy, so the youngest decided that he just needed to sleep the whole day away. It was a bad dream…a horrible dream that he would wake up from the next day. Obviously he cooked dinner before passing out, because he didn't want to wake up in the hospital the next day, a nurse telling him that the apartment complex had burned down due to an 'accident'. He'd kill his husband if something like that ever happened…

Sleep always felt pleasant, even if his dreams didn't necessarily play in his favor. Lockon said it was the only time he seemed relaxed, which could have very well been the truth. Things needed to be done, and if he wasn't working on something his mind would race a mile a minute trying to figure if he had missed anything. It was just the kind of person he was, and slowing down was never a priority…well, that wasn't as true was it use to be. He was trying to slow down, trying to pace himself instead of trying to get everything done at once because it was, he would admit, not good for his heath. He didn't want to die young, didn't want to have a mental breakdown and end up in some psyche ward because he completely lost it. He just…wanted to live…and at that point he wasn't sure he was doing such a thing.

To live and to be alive were to very different things, the distinction between the two becoming very clear to him as time when on. As a human he was alive, a living, breathing organism that was birthed into the world by his mother. He ate and slept to obtain energy, walked to require more and studied to obtained knowledge. But that was not _living_…it was just the basic needs one needed to survive on, and for the longest time he thought it was all he truly needed. Living required little effort but was worth it in long run, seeing that it provide one with something more then just necessities.

Yes, companionship was a part of being alive since humans by nature needed it, but…there was deeper sense to it once one decided to 'live'. It wasn't just 'someone that hung around you', no, there was connection that formed if one truly lived, one that couldn't be expressed in words properly because even he didn't understand it. And if that connection was strong enough…people fell in love.

Enjoying what was given to you also came with living, or rather enjoying the life one was given instead of toiling away with unimportant things. Setsuna was sixteen…_sixteen_…and had done nothing but dilute the fact that he was not actually enjoying his teenage life. He was a teenager, and should've been doing teenager things like going to hang out downtown during the middle of the night when he knew full well he had school the next day, going to see a movie he knew he was far to young to see, going to the beach during the summer with friends just for the hell of it, or having study sessions where the purpose of the meeting would be completely overshadowed by what was on TV and how good the snacks were. THAT was teenage life…but he had somehow become so anxious about his studies that he couldn't even enjoy such things.

His education had quite the chain on him. Realizations such as that were step in the right direction (not that he really knew what that was), but what would really come of it? It was break, he had all the time in the world to do nothing but act his age (or at least attempt to)…but after break ended what would become of him? There was no way his work 'less' ethic would be able to hold up for more then a few days, and after that the youngest would returned to his no slacking ways. School had that much of an influence over him…so he could enjoy his break, but it would return to normal as soon as he walked back into those halls. It was a distressing fact to know, but he was a great loss as to what could be down about it.

But there was always Lockon or Lyle…their work ethic was, for a lack of better words, not as strict as his. How they managed to not change it after so many years, since as time progressed school became more of a challenge, was beyond him. They always managed to pass everything, were never held back a single year, and managed to pass their entrance exams to get into both high school and college. With such horrible study habits, how had the two gotten so far in life? They were smart but weren't 'over achievers' (something they themselves had admitted), they had fun with life and seeming didn't put too much thought into academics.

It wasn't their top priority…The younger male wanted to be like that, not a carbon copy of them, but just their views on how things worked. Things Setsuna considered necessary the Dylandy twins found minor, and someway or another he needed to switch his thinking…and keep it that way. He needed to break the chain that not only school but he himself had placed on him, needed to find a different way of going about his daily life. It would've been much better if he started out slow, latching onto something small and then gradually grasping the full picture. And what was the full picture? That school was not the only thing in his life that mattered…

Upon waking up he found himself feeling groggy, and he didn't have to guess why. Whenever he slept at an unusual hour, one his body wasn't use to, he would wake up feeling as if he wanted to just go back to sleep. He wasn't aware of what time it was, but seeing as though the afternoon sky through the still open curtains of their sliding glass door he had fallen asleep with had grown dark, he knew it was the middle of the night. The illuminating brightness from the television only woke him up further, forcing him to open his eyes ever so slightly so they did not take in too much light and strain. The younger male didn't want to sit up just yet, didn't want to alert anyone in the room to his awakened state.

And it was damn good thing he hadn't. Once his eyes had adjusted to his surroundings, they stopped dead on the moving figure near him. It was his husband…but it wasn't the fact that he was there, it was _what_ he was doing that made him freeze up. Lockon was taking his shirt off…as if it was nothing. Why was he doing such a thing now? Granted he probably thought the younger male was still asleep, but dammit…he still could've done it in the bathroom! His back was facing him, so that was pretty much all the youngest could see…but it was enough. It was the first time he'd seen the older male's bare skin up close, and because of this his curiosity began to take over. Setsuna wanted to touch it…to see if it felt like the rest of his body, but he was afraid to.

'_Oh my god…why am I even __**thinking**__ about this…?'_ He thought to himself, momentarily burying his face in his pillow. Was this temptation at work? Groaning would only alarm the other that he was awake, so he withheld from making a sound. It almost pained him to do so but he looked back at the older male's back, a deep blush forming on his face. He was stretching…hands in the air as they held onto one another which causing the muscles in his back to flex and move…and it only build up his desire to touch the older male even more.

He couldn't touch him…couldn't run his fingers along the older male's trim back, making him give off a sound he only head in his dreams- that was taking things too far. Because he was young and because he was a male his dreams also served as a way for his fantasies to run wild, causing quite the rude awakening. But…it was Lockon, his husband who always liked touching him even if it wasn't at the most appropriate of times. He was the person he was married to, the same one that brought pleasure to his neck when they was no one around. So…didn't that make it alright with touch him? He'd never done anything to the older male, nothing outside of the occasional kiss, and it did seem a little unfair on his part. His husband was only trying to make him feel good, and in the end the youngest had done nothing to return the favor.

And it wasn't like he was asking for them to have sex by just touching him. Hesitantly he reached out his hand with the full intention of actually touching the other's bare skin…but he stopped mere inches away from it. Why was he afraid? It was just a touch, a simple touch that wouldn't lead to anything. Swallowing his fear he continued on, gently pressed his fingers against Lockon's back and sliding them down. He felt his husband tense up, obvious not expected to be felt up in the middle of night. The other's body was warm, which was something he was expecting seeing that he was a living creature. What he didn't expect was just _how_ warm the older male's body felt…

He was use to being close to the other (sometimes he didn't have a choice in the matter), so that meant the heat emitting off of him was something he was use to. But…without his shirt there was a definite difference, as if the clothes he wore blocked about half of the heat coming off of him. For some reason this prompted his entire hand to pressed against his back, it acting like it just wanted to touch and feel more.

"S-Setsuna? You're up?" Came Lockon's voice as he peered over his shoulder. Quickly removing his hand he nodded, feeling the blush on his face deepen as the embarrassment from his actions began to set in. It was frustrating that he felt so uncomfortable with expressing himself, never bringing his body outside of its comfort zone and just…do something! Burying his face in his pillow once more he groaned, feeling so annoyed with the fact that his body was craving something his mind wouldn't allow.

Setsuna heard the oldest ask if something was wrong, and he merely shook his head knowing his self-hate would grow. He felt himself being moved, and it wasn't long before he was staring up at his husband. Ah yes…he wasn't dealing with the same Lockon anymore, oh no. After the older male had confronted him about his suspicions, he took it upon himself to no longer play the passive role he use to when it came to asking about things he knew were bothering his wife. He was persistent, getting the youngest in a position where he could not run from either the topic or the older male. This was exactly the situation that had occurred…

Both of his husband's arms were on either side of him, making it so he could not in any way turn over on his side, basically ignoring him. Then there was the look he was giving him, that 'please speak to me look' gaze that drove a goddamn stake through his heart. Setsuna hated the desperation in that look, because if it wasn't for his stubborn nature that look would've never existed. If he had just been an open person Lockon would've never had to resort to forcing him to listen, or pleading to him to just tell him something, anything. The guilt he felt for reducing the other male to such a state was deep, and the only thing he could do was tell the other to stop so he could explain.

This was going to be embarrassing…

"I…I-I wanna do…_it_."

"It?"

"S-Sex…" He muttered, causing both his and Lockon's face to turn a beat red. Having that word come out of his mouth was too much, and it just further proved just how much of a virgin he was. It didn't help that when asked if he wanted to do it right at that moment he replied with a sharp 'NO!', which only made him feel even more embarrassed.

If he didn't want to do _it_ at that very moment, why the hell would he bring it up? His mind was about to go into overload, because after avoiding the subject for so long (well, barely speaking about it anyway)…the youngest wasn't sure if he could really even speak about it. But since he had brought it up there was no turning back, and now he needed to figure out what needed to happen. He was not the 'spur of the moment' kind of person, so some kind of plan had to be made. It wasn't fair to hold the oldest back from what he wanted to do anymore, and just to give him a date, something he could look forward to, seemed like the right course of action.

However…he still needed to think of a day! It needed to be special, so the first thing that popped into his mind was Christmas…that that was too close. His husband's birthday maybe? But that seemed too common…his birthday was something that came around ever year, and a present was expect after all. There was always Valentines Day, since the scent of passion and love was already in the air which caused people to go, well, horribly overboard. As romantic as it would've been to have his virginity taken away on _the_ day of love…there was no telling just how that day would affect the both of them.

Valentines Day was one of the few holidays out of the year he tried to have as little contact with the twins as possible, only because the two would act like they had gone into heat or something close to it. The touching, the licking, all of it increased, and even though that sounded like the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the situation…it didn't seem _right_. He didn't want the older male to be hormonally out of control since there was no telling if he'd be in his right mind, and the last thing he wanted was his first time to be quick, painful or ultimately forgettable. So…what day would be the best for them to commit to? A day that was exceptional, a day that didn't come around very often and wasn't one of the 'don't come near me' days.

And then it hit him…

"G-Graduation…" The youngest muttered.

"Hm?"

"T-That's when I wanna do…_it_…the day I graduate high school…"

His husband didn't say a word for a few minutes, probably processing what had left the younger male's mouth. The silence that followed was killing him meanwhile, because he knew what it meant if the oldest agreed. During the time leading up to the final day of his high school life, he would have to both mentally calm and prepare himself for what was to come. How it would affect his school work or for that matter his daily life remained a mystery, but it was clear that something was going to change. He still hated it, change that was, but had accepted that there was nothing he could do about it in the long run. It was going to happen regardless of his frustrations…so why not go with it?

Just as he was about to say something (because just having the older male stare at him was a little irritating), he felt himself quickly silenced when his husband's lips pressed against his. Since he had to shirt to grip onto, the only thing Setsuna could do was wrap his arms around his neck. Lockon was happy…he didn't need to use words, because his actions spoke much louder then any phrase or sentence he could've constructed. After so many days of waiting, so many days of being denied something he wanted…of course he would be happy.

"So, does this mean I can feel you up whenever I want?" The oldest asked upon parting.

But was still such a goddamn pervert…

"Not if you wanna keep those hands of yours…"


	16. The Christmas Chapter

"Oi, Setsuna…what's that on your neck?"

Oh god, now he had that to worry about that. His nerves were already on overdrive, so he was in no condition to interrupt and take the attention away from his wife. His mind was elsewhere, and it had been that way since he felt the full weight of that current day hit him with quite a bit of force. It was one of the many days he'd been waiting for, and even though his nerves were causing him to act a little out of character…he couldn't contain his excitement.

It was Christmas…Oh yes; Neil had been waiting for such a day all year, mainly because it brought back so many blissful memories of both him and the younger male. Christmas was one of the rare days out of the year where everyone just forgot about their problems, deciding that it was a festive day and that everyone should enjoy themselves. The day always got to everyone in someway, even Setsuna surprisingly, which was not a bad thing in the slightest. It was a nice change of pace to see the youngest actually acting his age, and it was also nice to see him trying to become closer to both him and his brother.

Trying was really what it was, because he was still acting like his usual Setsuna self in the process. But the fact that he was _trying_ did say a lot, and it did prove that the really did want their relationship to work out. He would cling to the two of them more then usual, say he was cold even though the room was well heated, and ask if they wanted to help (somewhat) with the cooking. However that year something had changed…a topic had been brought up, one Neil himself thought would never be talked about until a least another few months to a year, but his prediction was wrong. Sex…the mere word would drive his wife into an apprehensive state, making it so his mind would spin out of control with thoughts of lust he probably didn't want to be there.

How did the oldest know all of this? Because he thought about the same thing when that word was used…His body was craving it, his brother's body was craving it, and he was sure was hell his wife's body was craving it as well. Neil was a young man after all, and since he was indeed a virgin some things were just hard to deny. But…last week had changed all of that slightly, making it so his thoughts calmed themselves every so slightly.

Firstly it wasn't his fault that the youngest had ended up in the position he did, since his wife sometimes moved around his sleep and Neil had absolutely no control over it. _He_ was the one awakened in the middle of the night when he felt something move against him, startling him to the point of almost yelping. But he stopped himself once he found the half consciousness younger male just trying to reposition himself on top of him. Of course he blushed! The younger male was committing an act he never would while awake, meaning that it was something new and he had no intention waking him. There was also the fact that he looked so comfortable that he didn't want to disturb him at all.

Having already fallen asleep, Setsuna had curled himself up against his chest and didn't seem like he was going to be moved anytime soon. The younger male resembled a cat, so small and fragile and…cute. Because of this he couldn't help but hold him, gently placing his hands on his back and leaving them stationary. This action caused his wife to move, outstretching his arms and entangling his hands in his hair. It did hurt slightly, but it was pain that he could live with. He really was a gorgeous creature…but if that was the only reason he loved him, the oldest would not have stuck around for so long. He was so innocent, so completely unknowing of the world and what good could come of it.

The youngest wasn't enjoying his life at his age, instead shutting himself off to what could be and forcing on things that didn't matter (well they would matter later on, just not _now_). He was too hard on himself, and Neil tried his best to make the other just relax. On several occasions he tried hiding the younger male's school work, and every time his wife would freak out and go on a mini rampage until he found them. It was insane…How could one person get so bent out of shape because his homework was missing? It wasn't like the damn things were anything important (he checked before actually hiding it), so to see him freaking out over something so small was rather hard. His wife had filled himself with so much anxiety, so much doubt, that he in no way trusted himself.

The poor thing…to have so little faith in oneself was one of man's greatest downfalls, because if one did not have faith in oneself how could they have faith in others? It would certainly explain why the youngest was so reluctant to meet new people, and also why he it took him some time to warm up to others (well, when they didn't have something in common with him of course). He didn't have faith in others because he had such little in himself, and Neil wasn't sure if that would change with time or if something needed to be done. The world wasn't as unfair as some people made it look to be; yes, there were people out there that wished to mistreat others for their own pleasure, or that just did not care for the well being of anyone but oneself, but…hadn't the younger male managed to find seven people throughout his sixteen years of life that had been good to him?

People could be trusted, even if their nature said otherwise…they could be. It was just another thing he needed to teach the youngest, and he knew that over the years it wouldn't be the only thing. Setsuna needed someone to help him, someone who had an unbiased option about the world and didn't look at it from a warped point of view. Was it very convenient that the older male just happened to be such a person? He thought so…

After falling backing into a somewhat deep slumber, Neil was fairly happy and satisfied with what Setsuna had done and hoped that there wouldn't be any repercussions. But sadly…there were. He wasn't sure just how long he'd been asleep, but upon feeling himself stuck by human hands he didn't waste anytime waking up. The strange thing wasn't that he had been hit, since he had been awakened in such a way before in the past, it was more that his hands were for some reason touching something rather…soft. Just what was it? Well in his semi-conscious state there was no telling, but whatever it was it was making Setsuna blush quite furiously. Was it really that bad?

The next thing he knew the youngest was backed up against the wall, looking as if he had just gone through something traumatic. He was shaking slightly, and the youngest automatic thought that maybe the other male had experienced some sort of nightmare. It did happen on occasion…when Setsuna had a bad dream it was obvious, because he didn't want to be touched after the fact. There was no telling just what kind of hell the youngest saw in his place of escape, though he wasn't even sure he could call it such a thing. From time to time it was, the younger male remaining completely silent and still as he slept, but other times…he would shake or mutter to himself.

Even if he had gotten over his phobia of people (somewhat), getting over the torture that he had received when younger would take a little more then just simple home therapy. Those events had mentally scarred him, forever seared in his mind to be replayed over and over again. As much as he didn't like it, there wasn't much the oldest could do about it…Neil had realized it a little later in his life that he couldn't really help his wife all the time, that his words could not and would not reach him when he wanted them to. The only thing he could do in such a situation was comfort the other male, hoping that somehow he would make it out of the rut he'd gotten himself into.

Setsuna was a child…but he was also growing up. There would come a time where he didn't need assistance when dealing with his issues, and when that time came the oldest would be more then happy to step back. When the youngest had fewer issues to worry about it meant he could have more time focusing on being happy, and to be truly happy was something he always wanted for the other. He wanted to see him smile because he was happy, laugh for no reason, and just act his age. That day would come, Neil was sure it would…

Quickly going over to his wife, he asked if anything was wrong, though to be fair he already had a few suspicious. Upon being given a swift 'yes' Setsuna began to retreat, obviously needing space. While watching him get ready the oldest tried to think of what could've gotten him so riled up; seeing that he was blushing it couldn't have been a bad dream, since nightmares didn't cause people to blush so deeply. So what could it be…Neil had touched something soft upon waking up, something that felt familiar but at the same time foreign to his hands.

At first he thought it was nothing more then a pillow that had somehow ended up on top of him, but seeing that it was warm that thought was quickly rejected. Pillows were not warm, yes they did emit heat but that was only when someone had just removed themselves from it. So then what was it? Something soft and warm, something that would cause the young wife into a state that only occurred-

The truth hit him hard, and he couldn't help but feel slightly guilty about it. He had touched the younger male in a way he wasn't allowed to, so his flustered state was now completely understandable. How…embarrassing…he couldn't help but call out to the other male, but it was far too late as the door to their apartment was closed. He felt horrible for putting him through such a thing, but on the other side of the issue he was slightly annoyed with himself for not being awake when actually touching the youngest. It was very rare for him to place his hands anywhere below his wife's waist, so for him to actually do so and not be aware of it was a letdown.

Neil wanted to touch him…wanted his hands to dance across that body of his, restrictions completely taken away. His young body was driving him crazy, and jumping his wife would never be an option. However his predicament only seemed to get worse as the day went on; the 'accidents' he had with the other were far too frequent and also seemed far too staged, as if some invisible force was growing tired of their abstinence and decided to push them. It was horrible…he was sure he'd lose his mind if something didn't happen to stop the madness that had made itself known that day. Luckily his wife had read his mind. After Setsuna had prepared dinner the first thing he did was turn in, plopping down on his futon and falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The oldest had finally been given a break! He tried to preoccupy himself reading whatever manga the youngest had lying around, watching TV, and attempting to do the homework that was due the moment he returned to school (though, of course, he didn't get far…neither did Lyle). But for some reason he could not for the life of him focus on anything…All of his attention was brought back to the sleeping figure in the middle of the floor at some point or another, and he would always catch his mind about to drift off into nothingness. That day had obviously taken a toll on him, so much so that he couldn't block out the rather explicit images that were running wild in his head.

He was such a damn pervert…but all the blame couldn't be put on him. It was also time's fault, because he in the past such behavior (lusting after his own wife, etc.) would have never crossed his mind. Yes, he did fool around with him, kissing and hugging him…but that was all he wanted! He didn't care about things like sex back then! The only thing that mattered was that the youngest was there, and things such as sex were the furthest thing from his mind. But time decided to screw him over…he began to notice his wife in _that_ way, and it was incredibly awkward to say the least.

He finally understood the feeling his brother got when around the younger male, because it was the exact same feeling he had upon 'noticing' Setsuna. It took him a good three months to really get use such a new feeling, and all the while he couldn't bring himself to look away from the other. The older male paid close attention to the smallest of details when it came to the youngest, things he would normally overlook would suddenly captivate him immensely.

The curve of his back, how intense he looked while working, how soft his features became when asleep…but the one thing that struck him the most were his eyes. God they were stunning…he wasn't quite sure what color to pin them as, seeing as they were a strange combination between a deep red with a brown ting…maroon maybe? Neil didn't know…but he could get himself lost in them so easily. He hated it when the other male would look away from him, gaze pointed elsewhere as he stared off into oblivion. The oldest wanted those eyes to stare at him, all of their intensity focused on him and not the empty space that lied somewhere else. Just where did his mind go when he would stare off into space? It looked as if his mind was on some kind of topic, but to ask just what seemed like a little too much of an invasion of privacy.

But Neil knew that one day the things the youngest kept inside would come out, because he had promised they would. It was a little frightening to the older male, just because he was so use to his wife not opening up in _that_ sort of way to him. What would he tell him? Or better yet, would he be able to handle it? It was one of the many things his mind wandered over to as he continued on through the night, trying to find something to do until he began to become drowsy. Fortunately around one in the morning exhaustion started to creep into his body, meaning he needed to get comfortable before he collapsed on the spot. However the room was a bit too warm for his liking, and he didn't want to turn the heater down since Setsuna looked so damn cozy. So the alternative route was to shed a few articles of clothing, which to him didn't seem like that big of a deal.

Seeing that he was already in his boxers, it didn't seem right to remove them (since sleeping in the nude would obviously get him hit later on). So the only reasonable option he had was to take off his shirt, which would also get him hit in the long run. Setsuna had never slept against his bare skin before, because he found it too intimate for his liking. He was so shy…never once glance over at his brother or himself as the three of them change in the bathhouse or peeking out of the bathroom as he or his brother changed. It was a little strange how the youngest wasn't the least bit interested in how his body differed from others, seeing that humans were curious by nature. But it was Setsuna after all…the way he acted was in no way like 'normal' people.

However…the oldest thought that maybe the curiosity of others would be the one exception. How people worked, how their physical appearance differed from his, and, hell, how their mental state differed. But he didn't…why? Was it just another byproduct of his restraint? That could've been completely been the case, since the youngest always seemed to be keeping himself at bay for some reason. Letting go was okay, getting wild and acting like a delinquent was completely acceptable (if one did it in the right way)! His wife held himself back from doing anything fun, which was why Neil felt very fortunate to have met him; the oldest hated, _hated_ people around him to not experience some kind of joy, so he took it upon himself to show them. That wasn't wrong, right? People deserved to have fun, no matter how much their lives reminded in the dark.

The oldest didn't have is shirt off for more than five minutes before he felt something gently rub touch his back, and of course his natural response would be to tense up. He knew whose hand it was seeing that he and his wife were the only two in the room, so his tensed state didn't last too long. It was a little strange, having the other male touch him in a way he would usually feel completely uncomfortable with, but given the oddity of the day it was understandable to a certain degree. As soon as he looked over his shoulder, asking if the youngest was finally up, the hand was gone. How slightly disappointing…he wanted that hand to stay, to roam just a little bit more before he left his body feeling somewhat cold. Of course he knew his body kept a constant temperature (unless he had a fever), but that was not what the older male meant. His body might've felt physically heated, but when his wife was absent he _mentally _felt cold.

'Cold' could've also meant empty, but his condition was not that extreme. He could function without the youngest, he knew he could, but if he didn't interact with the other within a certain amount of time the feeling of 'cold' began to take over. When one became so use to another's touch it was reasonable that they would long for it if neglected, but…the older male was never neglected in 'that' way. Even if he did thing that unintentionally hurt him, even if he was pushed away, hit or called names…his wife didn't neglect him. It was the truth…the youngest needed him and would do nothing that would break the bond the two of them had built up over the year, even if it did on occasion seem like he let such a truth slip.

Seeing that Setsuna's action were so out of character, it was clear that something was on his mind. So he did the usual and asked, and upon receiving a head-shake he knew what needed to be done. If he had been his old self the event would've easily been blown off…but that person no longer existed. He was no longer a passive person when it came to his wife's problems, because he had seen what the ramifications of such an attitude were. He'd almost lost the other male because he foolishly turned a blind eye to what he thought were nothing more then his usual behavior, and his actions continued to lay heavily on him. He felt low…his wife was in pain and he hadn't noticed in the slightest. He was almost lost in a sea of darkness that was so deep Neil himself couldn't even pull him out of, and the fear of the other reverting back to such a state motivated him to continue on with his more forceful actions.

He would not lose the one he loved because of his own idiocy…

Turning the other over the older male trapped the youngest, asking once more if there was anything wrong as he added more demand in the process. The younger male gave him '_that_' look, the one that gave him the expression of pure surprise but would soften in an instant. Of course he wasn't use to being talk to in such a way, seeing that the older male was usually so dismissive of damn near everything Neil could understand his shock. But if he was going to continue on with his non-passive ways, he was sure the younger male would get use to it. Or at least he hoped he would.

After a very short pause Setsuna began to speak, and when the word 'it' came out his mouth the Neil didn't have a clue what 'it' could've been. However…when the word 'sex' left his lips…he stiffened (not in that way). His wife wanted to have sex, and he couldn't help but let a deep blush form on his cheeks. It didn't feel real, and for a few short seconds he believed that he was actually slipped into unconsciousness unknowingly. Sex…he never imaged those words would ever emerge from the younger male, let alone him saying that he actually wanted to have it! Neil, however, was brought back to reality when a sharp 'NO' echoed through the room, answering his 'do you wanna do it now' question. So…what did he want? In such a situation the older male needed to know what his wife wanted, because he couldn't second guess things when it came to taking his virginity.

He wouldn't do it if the younger male didn't want to….but even he had a breaking point. Something needed to be said, and if not…he wasn't sure what his body would do. He was a good boy, a very good boy, but even he had a dark side. 'Tending' to himself only worked but so much, and that damn little voice in the back of his head kept egging him on to do the unthinkable. _Touch him…touch him…touch him_! It was all that little voice every screamed! He wanted to! So goddamn badly! But…he wouldn't do anything that would betray the image his wife had of him, because to shatter that meant shattering his world. No…he wouldn't allowing the other to see him as anything other then his lover, his friend, and above all else his husband.

When the younger male began to speak once more, Neil did his best to listen as closely as he could, in order to prevent his wife from becoming a broken record. Of course he heard everything, seeing that it was one word and nothing more…but he didn't understand! Graduation? What did he want to happen on graduation? After a quick 'hm?' his wife added more to his statement, making it clear that he actually wanted to 'have sex on the day he graduated'. Shocked was the best way to describe his state at the time, and it took him a little while to register _everything_ that had gone on that day. His wife, who was usually so in control of his emotions, had suddenly come to a point where he couldn't hide what he truly wanted anymore. The bumps, the touches, and the looks had finally gotten to him, resulting in his needed to finally express that he was (to a certain point) a creature that desired pleasure.

It was about time.

Upon kissing him, Neil could feel a weight lift off of the two of them; finally some progress was being made in their sex life, something the older male thought wouldn't happen until the two of them finally snapped. Oh he'd read about it in a bunch of his brother's yaoi mangas, the one he kept in the back of the closest where he thought no one would find them (obviously he was wrong).

The two characters featured would probably be frustrated, the seme being too hesitant because he didn't want to force the other and the uke being too shy to actually say that he wanted to be jumped. The two would usually be doing something mundane, be it studying or just watching TV…then the 'accident' would occur. It was usually a bump of some kind, always unintentional, and always resulting in both of the males blushing. And then there was _the_ look…It was always so intense, both becoming so completely uncaring about what was going on around them. It was that look that caused so much impulsiveness, kissing, touching, forcing the other down, it all happened so fast. He didn't want that…he didn't want their first time to be so forgettable that they had to ask each other if they really had sex.

Neil wanted to make it a memory, because really, the first time was the _first time_. You couldn't repeat such an event! Their first time would determine just how their sexual relationship would go about; aggressive and passive were the two types of relationships, and they were pretty self explanatory. Aggressive just meant that all restraints were off, so if someone wanted to do the deed they would get what they want. Passive meant that wanted to have sex, but found the actually conversation (sometimes the act itself) slightly embarrassing, resulting in awkward situations that didn't need to happen. Of course there was always the possibility that nothing would happen between them, that their sex life would be nothing more then a minor thing.

Yeah, right…

From that point on the older male couldn't keep his hands off the youngest, and it wasn't like the other was resisting as much as he use to. It was a little strange being able to actually get to second base with his wife, which entitled him to a little under the shirt fondling (of course if they were in public touching was completely barred). In the past the mere sensation of him accidentally moving the younger male's shirt in the wrong way would completely take him out of the mood, Setsuna reverting to an unusually cold state, completely withdrawn from him. As comprehensible (except the withdrawal part) and disappointing for him as it was, it was more humorous then anything else. Why wouldn't it be?

He loved watching the younger male's reactions to 'intimate' things, because it was a side of him that only he and his brother knew about. The usually so composed Setsuna F Seiei, the serious worker that followed a strict plan he himself constructed unconsciously, could be broken so easily by a few simple touches. The outside world knew nothing about the younger male's true colors, because the only thing he ever put out that he was nothing more then the 'that serious guy'. Oh if only they knew…yes, he was serious at times (maybe a bit too often), but he in reality was a very shy person, so afraid of letting people see who he really was because of the abuse he'd received by the hands of the ones that were supposed to be his peers years ago. That would mess any child up…How cruel some people could be, but in cruelty there was kindness and that was just what Setsuna needed.

Obviously he had to explain to Lyle just why the younger male was so accepting about being touched…and of course he couldn't tell him the _whole_ truth. Neil just starched the truth a little, saying that the youngest was allowing the two to be a little more 'touchy-feely' then usual because he had 'something he wanted to do'. When questioned further he merely added that his brother had to 'wait and see later'. He wouldn't tell Lyle what was going on, what was supposed to take place on the day the younger male graduated…and truthfully he would probably leave such a conversation to his wife. His brother was the kind of person who would only hear the beginning and wouldn't stay for the details, so if he happened to say 'I slept with Setsuna' that's all the other would process.

That could and would have quite the deadly consequence. If his brother misconstrued his words, taking the word 'slept' and associating it with 'rape', their whole relationship would crumble in an instant. However…Lyle always listened to Setsuna. So if the youngest explained what had happened, the other was sure to understand. There was also the possibility that if he left the two alone while having their conversation, they would 'work something out' on their on. Neil didn't mind the thought of his wife being with his brother, since it was far too late for him to do any kind of complaining. Maybe when the three of them were young, when he could've scared the other Dylandy away, found him someone else to love, or just flat out ignore him. But…that time had passed, and he was accepting of the fact that Lyle loved the younger male.

On that day, Christmas Day, he had awakened in a remarkable good mood. It didn't surprise him too much since he usually woke up on holidays feeling such a way, but what made him feel even better was the familiar sight of his wife cooking at the stove. From the looks of things he was making some kind on confectionery, and given the amount of shopping they had done the previous day Neil knew that their oven was going to be completely warn out by the end of the day. Setsuna always made quite a bit of sweets during that time of the year, but it also meant that he was expecting company. So with a quick stretch, yawning as he did so, the oldest asked the other male if they should be expecting anyone to come knocking on their door sometimes during the day.

All he received was a mere nod, but it wasn't the nod in question that caught his attention. What did catch his eye was what looked to be a small smile on his wife's face, and even though it was almost unnoticeable, it was there. Of course Neil couldn't help but ask just why he seemed to be in such a good mood, which made the younger stop what he was doing and turned around. The smile he once had had grown faint, but it was still very much there…which meant he was in for some kind of treat. The youngest began to tell him that the elder Dylandy's mother had called, adding that it was in regards to just when he and his brother would be receiving their Christmas present.

That was strange…his mother was pretty secretive when it came to gift-giving, never revealing that she had any intentions of getting anyone anything until the time came. For the longest time he and his brother thought their mother had just flat out forgotten about special occasions, seeing that the air of suspicion never sounded her once. She was pretty damn crafty. This was the reason he couldn't help but arch a brow and ask just what his wife meant. Setsuna paused for only a few seconds, leaning against the counter behind him as he did so. What was this about…? Placing a hand on his stomach the younger male said that 'their present would be nine months late', which did not reach him for a solid five seconds.

Nine months…nine months…that was the usual time it took for a…When it finally hit him, it hit him hard, causing him breath his hitch rather loudly. _**His mother was pregnant?!**_ How could something like that happen?! Well…he did know the basics, but that wasn't what he meant! His mother and father were never really the types to be all over one another, though that could've been a front from the beginning…It made sense once their children had 'left the nest' that the two would revert back to their 'married self', placing their parental duties behind them and just have fun. So his mother had been knocked up by his father…again, and Neil was more then just a little enthusiastic about it.

He needed to call home, needed to speak with his mother and hear it for her own mouth. He did believe his wife, he just wanted to _hear_ it be said by another. But…there was one small problem…he always placed his cell right above his pillow, incase he received a call in the middle of the night (for what reason someone would be calling in the middle of the night he was unsure of). However, it had gone missing; picking up his pillow he found nothing, telling him that he needed to check under his futon next and then under the younger male's. It wasn't like him to lose things, especially important things that were used on a daily basis. If he did happen to misplace something of importance, he usually turned to his wife for assistance…which was exactly what he did…or rather what he _thought_ he was going to do.

As he opened his mouth, he quickly closed it as he witnessed the small device being held up by the younger male. Before he could even ask why the other male had obtained it, the other told him that he wasn't allowed to call home until he 'got his head out of the clouds'. What did- well…Neil did understand what he meant, and found Setsuna's actions logical. The older male had a habit of getting too excited over big events, which was normal for some but for him it was far from it. It wasn't his fault…it was true that his 'head was in the clouds', which basically meant his mind was filled to the brim with so many questions that would 'cloud' his vision on what was going on around him.

Why was that a bad thing? Because he had no control over what came out of his mouth…that was _very_ bad. Since the event in question was his mother's pregnancy there were a number of things he could've said that would qualify as 'idiotic', but the worst would have probably been 'Setsuna, do you wanna have a child?' That was too cruel…to say something like that would completely ruin the day, not to mention plunge the youngest into depressive state that he would probably not come out of for weeks.

It was one of the younger male's biggest weaknesses; the word 'wife' provoked many images in Setsuna's mind, he knew this for sure, all of which he had in some point or another fulfilled…all but one. He could not bare children. Obviously because he was biologically male his body could not and would not allow him to actually conceive, meaning that he could never actually have _their_ children. It probably wasn't something that was on the younger male's mind often, but on those rare moments where the thought would float into his mind…the oldest could tell by his outward appearance that it hurt him. But how did Neil know? Because his wife had confided in him once (while he was half asleep might he add) that he was ashamed that he could not 'give him children'.

Neil didn't care about such things…maybe he would down the line, but when that time came the two of them would deal with the issue. If the only thing he ever wanted were children, then the older male would've left his wife long ago, seeking the comfort of women instead of fooling around with someone who could not give him what he wanted. No…he hadn't done such a thing, hadn't left the youngest out in the cold so he could obtain the conventional 'family'. He wouldn't leave him for that reason because he didn't desire such things in his life…but that did not mean his wife believed him. So he reframed from calling home (which would also save him from saying something stupid to his mother), spending the rest of the morning fantasizing about his new sister or brother. Somewhere down the line his brother had learned about the news, but he too was barred from any contact with his mother.

Of course they shared the same problem! It was just…his brother's was a little more tamed then his, so he didn't randomly blurt out things that would get him scolded (lucky bastard). As the day went on, it seeming to move at a snails pace, the three of them received a visit from both Tieria and Allelujah…which for the older male seemed a little odd. Why _just _the two of them? Where was the 'elder' Haptism? At first Neil didn't think much of it, merely shrugging it off and opting to believe that the second oldest was probably knocked out on his futon. Yeah…that sounded like Hallelujah…right? Obviously the older male thought that the two were the reason his wife was working so hard, but that assumption proved to be wrong. The two were only there to deliver presents, one of which that was from the 'elder' Haptism himself.

Now that _did_ sound like Hallelujah. He was never the type of person to give gifts in a 'normal' manor, either getting someone else to do the giving for him or presenting it in an unorthodox way. Because of his outward demeanor, he probably didn't allow himself to show his 'softer' side to those so easily. But the fact of the matter was this…even if he acted like an ass that didn't care about the world or anyone, Hallelujah Haptism had never once forgotten someone's birthday, a special event, or a holiday. _That_ spoke volumes about his true character. Of course it could be argued that the second oldest was obligated to do so, but that couldn't have been the case. If he was indeed just obligated to anyone, why would he go through the trouble of actually getting an acceptable gift? Or better yet, why would he _willing_ give away his precious photos?

That's right, the only gift the second oldest ever gave were photographs he had taken himself. His love for photography didn't just crop up the moment he entered collage, oh no, it started at a much earlier age. He took pride in everything he captured, even if it looked like nothing to those around him. For another to actually place their hands anywhere near his precious photos would result in some kind of physical harm done to them, so everyone learned early on that leaving the 'elder' Haptism's work alone would keep them safe. However on special occasions he would relinquish a few of his dear pieces of art, giving them away to the people he care about…in his own little way. He would always throw it at the person in question, drop it in front of them, or just leave it in a common space where he knew the person would obviously see it.

That's just who he was. When asked by Setsuna if the two wanted to stay, they both declined to the offer, adding that it probably wasn't the best of ideas. Why wouldn't it be? The older male watched as, for what seemed like the first time in a long time, leave their small kitchen and make his way over to the closet. Ah of course, if the two weren't going to stay they might as well take their presents before leaving. His wife had purchased both gifts, however the two of them shared the responsibility of actually picked them out. For Tieria the two of them bought a hair pin, it bearing a pink tipped lotus flower as its focal point. Though the second youngest would probably never admit it out loud, but he had taken a liking to certain flower and the lotus just happened to be one of them. Perfect, wasn't it?

For the 'younger' Haptism they had purchased a 'how to' book on taking care of animals in general, while his brother on the other hand would receive a photo album on nature. Their tastes were so distinct that it didn't seem right to give them the same gift, which was why upon entering high school the two requested that others refrain from giving them the same thing. They were two very different people, and it took almost until they were in high school for the people around them to really figure such a fact out. But that was the price that came with being a twin, the outside world automatically assuming that just because one looked like another they would also act the same. Such a lie…

He was his own person and so was his brother, and Neil knew how it felt to be considered the same as his counterpart. When younger he was always confused for Lyle, and vise-versa, causing the two much grief in the process. They weren't the same! Hell, his brother had even tried cutting his hair once, and would've gone through with it if their mother hadn't have stopped him. To be truthful it was partially their own fault since they did wear identical clothes every day, but their personalities should've shined through that! But luckily they had Setsuna, who at first glance automatically knew which twin was which. Even before he knew the difference between their eye colors, he knew that Lyle was Lyle and that Neil was Neil.

Even if he had his suspicions, before leaving the oldest couldn't help but ask why it was just the two of them, to which both Tieria and Allelujah replied that the 'elder' Haptism needed 'time to himself'. That didn't sound good…However, he couldn't ask anymore questions since the two began to make their way out of the room…the oldest feeling as if they were running away. Something had happened between the three of them, and since the older male knew better his mind involuntarily leaped at the thought that Hallelujah's little secret had somehow leaked out. If that was the case then the older male needed to do something…and fast. There should've been enough time for him to run and catch up with them, seeing that it usually took a normal person about five minutes to make it down to the first floor and over to the bus stop.

But his actions were derailed when his brother pulled him down from his ascent, making is so he sat back down. When asked what the deal was he received a short 'this wasn't something they should interfere with', which irritated him instantly. Why shouldn't he get involved?! Maybe when everything was up in the air, when a rift had not formed between the three people he'd known for years, then yes, he could've agreed with his brother. Not this time…Upon being stopped once more he couldn't help but grab Lyle's shirt collar, fully intending to cause physical harm to him. He didn't have time to play around with him…Before he actually managed to knock his brother out his wife stepped in, pulling them apart while keeping his calm demeanor.

The younger male told him that his brother was correct, adding that the three needed to work something out 'just like they had'. For someone who acted like he didn't understand the situation for the longest time, it was amazing how quickly he could catch on. Yes, he did seem interested in the relationship between Tieria and the Haptism twins, even going to far as to ask him if he knew just _what_ that relationship was (though Neil never actually told him), but…that was as far as his curiosity went. So for him to say that the older male needed to step back and let the course of events happen without their involvement, with the FULL knowledge of what _could_ happen in the end, meant that Setsuna had faith in their friends.

So…didn't that mean he should have faith was well? Maybe it wasn't right to try to play the 'hero' every time something happened between the six of them, but it was a habit that originated from his childhood. He wanted to protect what he had, because when one was on the verge giving up on everything, to finally have something worth holding on to meant the world. However…as time when on it became clear that the oldest wouldn't be able to hold on to everything forever. People changed, it was an unfortunate fact of the world but it was a fact nonetheless. The world wasn't as carefree as it use to be, because both he and the people around him had grown up. They were plagued with real world problems now, no longer the childish ones he was use to be, the simple 'instant fix' no longer become a valid way of dealing with problems.

What the hell would he actually say that would change their minds? If he ran after them, would his words even reach him? They weren't children anymore…and as human beings growing up sometimes it was better to allow them to figure out their own problems. His role of the hero had ended the moment the people around him began to mature, and if he had gone after them he would've been nothing but a fool. Sighing a little he apologized to his brother, adding that his behavior was rash and unacceptable. After being forgiven he spent the rest of the day feeling like crap, head placed against the table as he mindlessly stared at the flashing television screen. What was playing? He didn't know. Did he particularly care? Not really.

Even if he had faith that the three would come out of the situation alright, that didn't stop him from feeling like he had failed in some sort of way. Yes, the world was an unpredictable place, and maybe he should've been prepared for the worse…but he hadn't. He should've been though, because over the years one lesson of life always became clear to him at some point or another…both good and bad events shared a common place in the world, and he COULD NOT have the good without the bad. Balance was necessary, the older male knew that, but yet…he hadn't accepted it yet. Even if he was proven wrong time after time, Neil for some reason refused to acknowledge that both could co-exit in the same plane.

However…that was a very naive way of thinking. The older male needed to understand, and soon, that in order for people to grow they needed to experience hardships to truly be grateful for the good things that happened in their life. Hell, wasn't he the perfect example of such a thing? Didn't he himself experience horrible hardships, but in the end was rewarded with friends who genuinely cared about him and a wife? Why…why was it so hard for him to just accept the truth? Because it meant growing up…meant leaving a world he'd known for so long behind. The gap between adulthood and childhood was quite the large one, and to actually cross it took more willpower then he was prepared to give up. But it needed to happen, and soon…The older male couldn't stay a child forever, because the real world had already entered his life and he could only ignore it but for so long.

Once the _real_ company had arrived (which just happened to be Christina and Feldt), the older male perked up slightly, putting on a semi-false front to seem as if nothing was bothering him. Neil did feel a small twinge of regret hit him as he did so, seeing as he was basically lying to them by putting his true feeling asides, but he wasn't going to mess up the mood even further since it was only the second time the two had visited. The first time was when the two (well really Christina) needed help studying for a very annoying test every first year needed to take, and since Setsuna was indeed a 'upper classmen' why wouldn't they turn to him? Much like the test the younger members of the village took, it was merely an evaluation that was sent to the Osaka Board of Education to see just how well or screwed up their students were. Everyone took it and everyone hated it.

It wasn't really necessary to actually study for the thing, because it was nothing more then review from years past. But they still came regardless of such a fact. The two girls seemed to be quite amazed with the apartment, mainly because they didn't know any student that was living on their own while still in high school nor did they know of anyone living with the person they loved at such a young age. The youngest ended up tell them the reason he had left home, cleverly leaving out the part where he spent hours in his room without any human contact, believing that both Dylandy twins had abandoned him. Of course he wouldn't want to seem weak in front of them…Just because he talked to them, allowed the two of them come over and spend time with him, did not mean the younger male was going to completely open up to them.

That would come much later…

Feldt, seemingly being the one out of the pair that didn't need help at all, decided to sleep the visit away, which was completely fine. The older male knew a good amount about the two people his wife had taken a liking too, and from the sound of things Feldt seemed almost like a carbon copy of Setsuna. Her study habits were definitely the same, at least according to her brunette friend who said that she always seemed to have her noise in a book. The shorter female also seemed to share the younger male's anti-social tendencies, apparently sticking with only people she knew rather then trying to branch out and talk with others.

If those two shared quite a few similarities, did that mean the older male shared a few things in common with Christina? It could've very been true…The two of them seemed to be horrible at studying, opting to have a good time rather then working hard for 'trivial' things. Yes school was important, but so were other things! Like…being social! If one didn't know how to be social, how could one _truly_ function in the world? Humans needed, thrived on, contact with others, and without it they would become socially inexperienced. Something like that would only make life harder, which was why he begged and pleaded for his wife to talk to more people from time to time. But the older male knew his efforts weren't wasted, since he had managed to make two new friends after so many years.

But…would that be enough? Would the youngest actually be able to make a one-eighty and become more outgoing? The possibility was not zero, so there was a chance that Setsuna would come out of it okay. The process would most likely be painfully slow, but progress was progress and the oldest had no right to complain. His wife was trying his best to be a 'normal' person, though his quirks would, in the end, prevent him from truly achieving such a goal. However that didn't bother Neil one bit; since he had not asked, or better yet forced him to change his ways it as quite obvious that the oldest actually liked said quirks.

Why wouldn't he? The younger male was his wife, and was it not his duty as a husband to accept his wife as they were? Well…it didn't necessarily seem right to call it a 'duty', since that would imply that he was merely forcing himself to accept the other. No, he was most definitely not forcing himself to like every little thing the younger male did. He liked it all because he wanted to, because he saw the other male as more then just his 'wife'.

A few hours into their studying curiosity got the better of the older male, so he inadvertently asked how long Christina had known the other female, which earned him quite the amused looked from the brunette. She looked up at the ceiling as if trying to remember something, and when she was done a strangely somber look crossed her face. She still retained a small smile, but it was filled so much melancholy that it was almost painful to look at. Christina said that the two had known each other since middle school, adding that they had shared the same homeroom since them. She paused, as if thinking carefully as to what she wanted next…and that in itself was frightening.

Why did she need to think it over? Or better yet, should he stop her before something she would regret would be said? But those thoughts came all too late as he heard the younger girl continue on; she said that Feldt didn't have the best home life, and that she preferred to come over then actually spend her time at home. He was so tempted to ask…so tempted to pry into the lives of people he'd only met that year. Would he be alright to ask what she meant? Or would that completely crush the trust the two of them had build up over such a short period of time? Well…it was worth trying at least. However he was stopped dead in his tracks when his wife gave him a look that told him to keep quiet, so instead of screwing himself over he didn't say a thing.

Even though he was not in the process of studying that day, he learned two things…that asking personal questions to not-so-close friends was a no-no, and that his wife knew more about the people around him then he let on.

As time went on that festive day the oldest had almost forgotten about his troubles, the light atmosphere completely overtaking him and lifting his mood. It had been a while since that small apartment held that much warmth, and he was rather grateful to have that feeling back. It was still a shame that the room couldn't be filled with the people he was so worried about, because the older male believed that there were only a few times out of the year that one needed to put whatever was ailing them aside for the moment…and he was sure Christmas was one of those few times. But they had their own problems to worry about, their own troubles that he was not going to interfere with because, well, it was no longer his business. If one of the three came to him willingly then he would try his best to give appropriate advice, but until that time came…he would do nothing.

When the day finally came to an end for them (around nine p.m.), it was time for both of his wife's female friends to go back home. However, it wasn't until they were at the door, saying their goodbyes that the older male remember that he still needed to give Setsuna his gift…and it was also during that time that the young brunette noticed something on the younger male's neck.

"Is it a love bit-"

"Oh! Let me walk you two to the bus stop!" His brother promptly said, gently pushing the two out of the door and into the hallway. Thank god…Lyle had saved him from sounded like an idiot, because his mind was so far away that it would've been impossible for him to form a coherent sentence. The older male's nerves were getting to him, and if he didn't do something soon he would without a doubt ruin his chances of come off like there was nothing bothering him. So after taking a few deep breathes he sat down next to Setsuna, who had taken his place back down at the kotatsu. The youngest looked tired, which was reasonable since he really did seem like he was having fun.

That was one of the few things he wanted out of the younger male…to be happy. Neil didn't care if Setsuna was at the top of his class, didn't care if he spoke five different languages, was one of the top athletes in the area, or if he was a genius when it came to the arts. What he did care about was that his wife was happy, that the person who refused to show his true self to the world would one day become completely comfortable with himself and smile. God he loved that smile…so goddamn much.

"Did you have fun?" Neil asked as he placed his arm around the other male's body.

"Yeah…we should do it again next year." The other male muttered, gently placing his shoulder against his husbands as he sighed. He was so close to nodding off, the oldest could tell, but before that he needed to provide him with the present he had spent so long saving up for. It had taken him two years, _two years_, to accumulate the money for such a gift and it required a lot of begging on his part. Graham wasn't necessarily a hard boss to deal with, and to be honest he didn't really see the blonde as an authority figure.

_But that was precisely the problem_. Because he didn't treat the other as the older male that he was, the blonde thought it only fair to do the same. If he had been a normal boss with normal non-friend employees, then asking him for a slight increase in his pay would've been as simple as saying 'would it be possible for me to be given a raise?' Oh no…because that bastard was his 'friend' he wanted to hear him beg like a damn dog! However, Neil didn't have any other options in the matter, and seeing as how the gift he wanted was so important…he threw his pride aside for that moment and did something he thanked the gods Hallelujah wasn't there to witness.

It was worth it in the end; though to be truthful the blonde never let him live it down, not to mention the threat of Graham telling the 'elder' Haptism was the perfect scare tactic to make him work more efficiently. Reaching into his back pocked he pulled out a small black box, a slightly crushed white ribbon sitting on its top. Just holding it made his nerves spike; this was it…the moment he'd been building himself up for had finally come. From just holding it the oldest could feel his heart beating rapidly, it sounding as if a drum was being played near his damn ear. He needed to calm down…or else his wife would surely notice and question what was wrong with him. But he couldn't act _too_ swiftly…he needed to take his time, setting up the situation to make the delivery absolutely perfect. Moving a little he positioned himself behind the younger male, feeling the other relax as he did so.

"Setsuna…" He started, "I've wanted to give you something like this for a while now."

"Huh?" The other said, obviously not aware of what the older male was talking about. Slowly Neil placed he small box on the table, a silence immediately following his actions. He didn't need to question why his wife didn't instantly dive for the box and quickly open it…it wasn't in his character to do something like that. Setsuna was the kind of person to analyze everything, so he was most likely trying to figure out just what was inside the small object before he decided to do anything else.

But Neil knew he wouldn't figure it out…

"…What is it?"

Bingo. That was exactly what he wanted to happen. Removing his arms from around the younger male's waist, he placed them around his neck, holding him. He leaned over slightly, and gently placing his chin against his wife's shoulder he told him to open it and find out. There was another small hesitation, but it didn't last as long as the first one. He watched as the other outstretched his hand, picking up the box and slowly removing the ribbon. Once completely off, Neil could feel his chest tighten, the anticipation eating away at him.

Of course he was excited! All the years he had been with the younger male there had been something he couldn't obtain, one thing, _only_ one thing that his mind would occasionally wander over to and remind him just what the two of them were missing. It was unobtainable only because of one simple matter…his income. His family did make enough money to afford the object he desired, but he absolutely refused to ask for their help. It was…something he needed earn on his own, because he would've felt much better about himself if he had punched what he wanted with his own money. However, that required a paying job, and working at a flower shop wasn't what one would call extremely 'profitable'.

But it wasn't like he was complaining or anything, seeing that he had stuck with since he was young. It just felt comfortable working around people he had known for quite some time, though he knew one day that time would come to an end. Neil couldn't work at the flower shop for the rest of his life, only because he knew he wouldn't get anywhere in life with it. After thinking about it for a some time, the older male come to the conclusion that his currently living area would not be so sufficient in the future. Since he was a collage student, sure, he didn't need much space…but what would he do once he graduated? And what about his wife? Wouldn't he too eventually need more space (he was still growing after all)?

If he wanted a bigger apartment, not a penthouse, just something a little more spacious then what he had, the older male needed to find another job. The rent in Japan was actually very high, so if he didn't want the thought of moving out to be nothing more then a dream he needed to start looking for his 'real' job. The oldest wanted to have fun when he worked, which was why he in no way wanted to have a desk job. Something like that just didn't suit him…sitting behind a bland piece of wood (or metal) as paper work piled up, listening to a boss that constantly degraded him and told him that it was merely to 'better himself'. Bull…there was no way in hell he was going to stoop to such a level for just money.

Neil had seen the end result of working in such a place every night his father came home. He tried to hide it, the absolute exhaustion he felt, the look of defeat his entire body held…he tried but in the end he couldn't. He wasn't saying he hated the man for working the way he did; actually it was the exact opposite, the oldest actually admiring his father for working so hard to support his family. It just distressing to know that man was forcing himself to do something so tiresome just for them…so Neil promised himself that he wouldn't end up like that.

The oldest felt Setsuna tense up against him as he opened the box, and he couldn't help but do the same. The object was so simple…but in its simplicity lied a depth of emotion he knew his wife would pick up instantly. It was a ring…The small object was nothing special, just a gold band with nothing else on it, no diamonds or stones. However, he didn't think it needed to be flashy to impress Setsuna, because the youngest was the kind of person to appreciate the little things and never overlook them. The stiffness he felt in the other soon melted away, making it clear that the situation was become clearer to him.

"Do you like-" Was about all the older male could get out before his wife quickly turned around, wrapped his arms around him which forced Neil to fall back. But that wasn't the reason he went silent…The oldest had pressed his lips against his, making the pain in the back of his head from the impact completely disappear. It felt so nice…

They weren't together for too long, Setsuna parting only after a few seconds to say a little 'thank you'. He didn't need to thank him; the look of sheer happiness he was giving him, though faint, was more then enough thanks, and as the oldest ran his fingers through his wife's hair he told him that it was 'nothing'. With another quick kiss, he watched was the youngest sat up, removing the ring from its box and slipping it on his left ring finger. Yeah…that looked right. A wife was supposed to have a ring, right? Even if it had taken him some time he had done it, giving the younger male a symbol of the love he had for him. That didn't sound too cheesy, did it? Well it wasn't like it mattered since he became too caught up in the moment to figure it out.

"You can call your mother now…"

"Hm?"

"Your mother, she's-"

"O-Oh, yeah!"

He'd almost forgotten…maybe he'd gotten a little _too_ caught up in the moment…


	17. The Home Chapter

Never in his life did he believe someone would come to actually 'love' him, only because he'd been told so many countless times that such a person did not exist. And he was happy with that…as horrible as it sounded it was the truth, because without _that_ person in his life he didn't need to worry about what his parents or his bastard cousin did to them. He didn't care if they beat him, didn't care if they abused him till their hearts content…because he didn't have to worry about disappointing that _special_ person. Yes he did have friends that were considered special, but he could so easily lie to them about the life he hid away from the public eye. But he couldn't do that with the person that was supposed to love him, because there was no way in hell he could lie to them…which was exactly why he didn't want someone like that in his life.

So then why…why was he thinking about the Haptism twins? As he lay in his room, the cold air hitting his completely exposed body as it slowly blew in from the partially opened door, they were the only two on his mind. Why? After trying to distance himself from the two, why were they lying on his mind so heavily? Why when he wanted to forget about everything did those two happen to be the first thing he thought of? It wasn't fair…none of this was fair. He didn't want to think about them, not in his current state.

Tieria's problems started on _that_ day, the day he tried so hard to forget about but couldn't. Of course he couldn't help but noticed the strange change in the 'elder' Haptism, because hell, who couldn't? It wasn't like him to actually be pleasant, and to him of all people! Truthfully it looked as if the other was up to something, but from the amount of restraint Hallelujah was putting on himself completely changed his mind. If the older male wanted to prank or humiliate him he would've just done it, putting such little thought into his actions and taking pleasure from whatever the outcome was. But he was holding himself back, actually thinking about what he was doing and acting…nice. The second youngest wanted to say something, but decided against it since the amount of arguing the two of them did had gone down tremendously.

It was a rather good experiment…Tieria had thought about one thing since both he and the second oldest had gone out that one time…was it possible for the two of them to function without fighting or arguing? They went through the same thing _every single goddamn day_; the 'elder' Haptism would say something, ultimately pissing him off and starting up a fight or argument that didn't necessarily need to happen. Could he have just ignored the other male? Oh of course…but that bastard had a way of getting under his skin like no one else. But was that all he was to him? Nothing more then a simple boy who had not matured at all since the two of them were younger? No…that wasn't true at all…after hearing him speak about his views on photography, he knew that something, maybe deep down, had matured inside the older male.

The only time Hallelujah didn't sound cynical, or for that matter like an ass, was when he was talking about the hobby he loved. No, it didn't seem right to call it a hobby…passion was the better word. It was so strange…Allelujah use to be the only one he saw out of the two that had any kind of aspiration in life, the only one who ever spoke about what he wanted in life and how he would try to go about and achieve it. But the second youngest, after a few recent events, knew that the other Haptism had ambitions in life. Under that tough exterior was someone who was, surprisingly enough, just like their brother in certain ways.

It would mark the first time, on that day, that he was actually _allowed_ in the kitchen with the slightly older male, and why would he complain about such a thing? The second youngest didn't necessarily think he was a horrible cook, him seeing it as more lack of practice then anything else. His family owned servants, so of course they did most of the cooking, cleaning and anything else that needed to be done around the house. There were a total of five servants that work around the rather large home, but he had never once met any of them, only knowing of their existence because of his parents telling him so. The 'younger' Haptism was apparently the only close person to him to actually see at least one servant around, since he did always come through the back door and someone _did_ need to tend to the garden after all… so it was inevitable.

Though to be fair is also didn't help that his interactions with his mother and father were kept to a minimum, Tieria never once even eating dinner with them. All of his meals were delivered to his door, a small platter housing whatever the meal for that hour was, but, of course, no servant were there whenever he opened the door to retrieve it. However…when that bastard of a cousin of his moved in he was forced to eat with him, still in his room and still without seeing any servants. There was a eerier silence whenever the two of them ate together, but truth be told as long as Ribbons wasn't asking him stupid question he didn't really care either way.

As he tried to cook rice, something that should've been as easily as setting a timer and waiting for a 'beep', he noticed how out of it Hallelujah seemed to be. His mind seemed so far away, like he had become lost in thought that he was completely unaware of what was going on around him. Another strange thing that Tieria had noticed was his sudden concern for the slightly older male well being, something he didn't give a rat's ass about in the past. Hell he use to think it a blessing if the 'elder' Haptism fell off a cliff, but those thoughts no longer made themselves known to him. Instead his mind would focus on if the slightly older male and his odd behavior; after overcooking the rice (basically making it soggy), he was only yelled at for about five seconds. Five seconds…what the hell was that about? In the past he would get an ear full for most of the day, being called things like 'useless in the kitchen', 'a burden' or 'waste of space'.

But…that didn't happen…He was told that the rice was still usable, and that there was nothing to worry about. And there was the hand that was placed atop of his head, the one that felt so gentle…which was something he did not associate the 'elder' Haptism. At first he didn't like it, finding the warm touch uncomfortable to the point where he would back away from it. But as time when on he became use to it…and that fact scared the living daylights out him. Hallelujah wasn't a gentle person, wasn't one to do 'nice' things, but…he had proven him wrong again and again with his new actions. On top of that Tieria had noticed how little time he was spending with the 'younger' Haptism, a good portion of his time being taken up by the person he never thought he'd have a civil conversation with.

It didn't seem right…but on the other hand he didn't seem to mind it all that much. What was wrong with him? However, he momentarily stopped when he saw Hallelujah cut his finger, not to it reacting at all. The second youngest could tell that the others mind was elsewhere, and since the cut looked quite painful he snapped the slightly older male out of his trance. As he left, obviously to tend to his wound, Tieria couldn't help but follow him, acting like a puppy that had found its new master. As horrible as that sounded, and as much of a bad taste that left in his mouth…it did hold some truth to it. He had been following the second oldest for no good reason, doing a one-eighty favoring to be around the 'elder' Haptism opposed to the 'younger' one.

What the hell was the matter with him?

As he followed him into the bathroom and to the front door, barking orders at him, his mind continued to repeat that saying over and over again. What the hell was the matter with him? _What the hell was the matter with him?_ _**What the hell was the matter with him? **_His body was telling him that he was getting too close, that he needed to back off before something horrible happened to him. But…Hallelujah was his friend…right? Wasn't it alright for him to get close to the slightly older male? He was…his friend…and even though it had taken years for that statement to hold some truth to it, it did. The second youngest still wasn't sure why the other Haptism made him feel so odd, a strange nervousness creeping up whenever he heard or saw the other being 'serious'.

Maybe the nerves just came from the newness of the situation; other then trying to beat his face in for saying something stupid, he didn't know what else the other male was good for. How were his conversation skills? He'd never tested them before, so the second youngest wasn't sure if Hallelujah possessed them at all. Was he good company? Well…if being chased around counted as 'good company' then yes he was, but since Tieria knew it didn't he wasn't sure as to what the answer to that question was. God, the 'elder' Haptism was a complete mystery to him, only because in years past he refused to actually learn who that person was.

Whose fault was it that he never actually bothered to get to know the other male? His own…But it wasn't a horrible thing, getting to actually know Hallelujah that is, and find out things about him that would have never interested him in the past. For one thing the slightly old male actually did have a fondness for animals, or at least the one that roamed the village freely. He'd witnessed it a few times when the pure white feline with the piercing sapphire eyes would come to the front of the house, never coming too close to the door as those eyes of his begged for something. It always seemed to pop out of nowhere between the hours of three and four thirty in the afternoon, which the 'elder' Haptism said was a rather odd behavior for him.

Apparently the feline didn't come near the house, because it had learned early on that he was not allowed inside so therefore there wasn't any point in going up to it. Now Tieria wasn't the kind of person to look at animals and automatically see them as 'intelligent', but he needed to give credit where credit was due. The cat was smart, picking up so much over the course of a few years that there was really no telling just what he could do if he really put some effort into it. Of course his owner knew he possessed such intellect, which is why he probably didn't make such a big deal out of it. When the cat came up Hallelujah would tend to it, petting its fur and speaking to it as if it were an actual human being, it purring at he did so.

He'd been told by Hallelujah that he didn't do the usual 'baby speak' to the feline because he had attempted it once, the outcome being a scratch across the face and the cat looking at the 'elder' Haptism as if he had lost his mind. That truly was _his_ cat…But the second youngest continued to watch the two, noticing how gentle the slightly older male was while handing the small animal, never once making it look uncomfortable or frightened. Tieria wasn't sure how Hallelujah's devil cat, let alone other animals would react to him, so he never once disturbed the two of them. He'd never owned a pet because he feared for its safety in the hellhole that was the house he'd grown up in, because his parents were the kind of people who took joy in seeing the thing he cared for broken without a season thought.

The only reason he was even allowed to have friends, or leave the house for that matter was because the people raising him wanted something to snatch away from him. If a child had nothing, completely cut off from the world in a way that would be considered isolation, what pleasure could those people take in that? No…they needed to give him something that could be easily gotten rid of, something they could lock him away from, ultimately making him suffer. So if he were to have a pet, something soft that he slept with at night and cared for with all his heart, there was a very high chance that said animal was not going to last very long. They wouldn't either killed it in front of him, just to prove that they had that kind of power, or abuse it to the point where it no longer trusted the companionship of humans.

Friends were a different matter…his parents couldn't do anything without getting noticed, so their best option was to instead do something to _him_. Because his parents believe they had absolute authority over him, they could lock him away if they wished; making it so he was never allowed to venture outside of their estate, never truly seeing the light of day again and never experienced what it felt like to have another human being interact with him. His parents weren't human…oh no, they were merely shells filled with nothing but hatred and old traditions. They didn't care about him, only that the 'old ways' were forever kept in motion and never forgotten. That was the true reason his parents detested the second youngest so…because by just being born he had managed to completely throw a wrench in the traditions the two of them had spent so many years upholding.

Why should he be the exception? After so many year of torture, why should he be the one to be exempt from the same hell so many others had gone through in the past? No…they wouldn't allow him to escape just because he was born a male, and they would continue to force their way of life on him. However, he wouldn't allow them to rule over him, not while he still had the will to fight them. They hadn't broken him yet, but since the arrival of his cousin it was become harder to resist. But as long as some sliver of hope existed he would manage to survive somehow.

As he watched Hallelujah grab his coat, the sudden overwhelming urge to stop him from actually leaving the house began to take him over. Why? Tieria wasn't sure…but as he called out to him, demanding an answer to his odd behavior he began to feel better. He didn't want to see him leave without a reason, or at least that's what he thought at first. There was a deeper motive for the irritation he felt, he knew there was, and maybe it was because he was actually enjoying the other's company for once. The second youngest was…_enjoying _the company of someone he, in truth, barely knew. He just…wanted to know the person he'd been around for so many years a little better, and as thoughts similar to that began to swarm his mind he help but question just why he didn't bother to do so in the past.

However…his world came to a halt as he received something that did not register with him for quite some time. It was…a kiss. He'd only experienced something similar when his cousin would force him down, crushing his lips against his own in a way that made Tieria feel absolutely disgusted with both the act and himself. But the 'elder' Haptism felt different…even if it felt a little rough there was gentleness that could not be ignored behind his action, not to mention the sense that he had been released from some kind of tension. God did he seem tense over the last few days…Hallelujah acting as if something inside of him was tearing him apart, hindering him from doing what he truly wanted.

As the two of them parted he listened to what the slightly older male said, still completely unable to move. He sounded hurt, as if what he was saying hit him much deeper then he was actually letting on. And he had every right to feel such a way. As the second youngest watched the other male leave, he still could not for the life of him make himself move. It was obviously because of the pure shock that had taken over his entire body, it refusing to accept what had just happened within the last three minutes.

The Haptism twins…_liked_ him…not in a friendship sort of way, but in a…loving way. No, no, no, he couldn't allow such a thing to happen, but yet it had without him even being aware of it. Had the signs always been there? Had the second youngest been so blind that he had completely missed the hints that were so obviously there? Unfortunately that seemed to be the case, and as he fell to his knees he felt a suddenly feeling of dread and regret come over him. Tieria couldn't return Allelujah or Hallelujah's feelings, and not because he didn't want to but because it would only hurt them in the long run. He wasn't…supposed to have someone like _that _near him, someone that cared for him in a way that was beyond normal friendship. His family without a doubt would break that person, punishing them for becoming far too close.

That kind of fate was something he did not wish for either of the twins, but at the same time he'd still be hurting the two of them by pushing them away. Hell, the second youngest wasn't even sure he was capable of loving another, only because he'd had never actually experienced such a feeling. He'd never been 'loved' by his parents, only treated as an object they freely manipulated at will. His friends treated him nicely, and Tieria did know that there was some difference between kindness and love. But then…how would he describe the things he did with Allelujah? They were friends, but he treated him differently then everyone else. He didn't sleep in the same bed with anyone else, didn't allow them to hold him or tell them about the future he wasn't so sure about.

What the hell was the 'younger' Haptism to him? Had he always been that special person he thought never existed? If so…then did that mean that he had developed feeling for him that he was completely unaware about until that point? Once again, it unfortunately seemed so. It was the only logical way to describe the bond he held with Allelujah, and it pained him more then anything else to know that he hadn't noticed it earlier. If the second youngest had seen the signs early on then maybe he could've done something about it, maybe he could've distanced himself from the two, or maybe…maybe he could've indulged, just a little, in what it felt like to actually be loved.

When younger he was free to do such things, only because he did not fear the consequences as much as his older shelf did. Even if he was beaten, tortured in some sort of way he never experienced before, he would still pursue what he thought brought him pleasure. But it was too late for him to go after what he wanted, because the reality of what might happen to those around him had finally sunk in. With his foolish action he could easily hurt the people he cared about, because if anything were to happen to him it would without a doubt affect those around him.

As he kneeled in front of the door, Tieria wasn't sure what he should've been doing at that moment. Should he chase after the 'elder' Haptism and demand an explanation? Should he go upstairs and speak to Allelujah? He just…didn't know, and that indecisiveness caused him to break down. Pressing his forehead against the cold hardwood floor, the second youngest allowed his tears to fall with any restraint. He wanted to remain ignorant to the feeling of those around him, wanted to pretend that he was not 'loved' by another because it meant he'd be hurting them if it ever happened. But that time had come and passed.

Upon hearing footsteps near him he tried to control himself, making himself give off a 'hick' sound every now and then. The gentle hand on his back, the concerned voice whose words filled his chest with so much pain…he didn't need to look up…he already knew who had come to his 'rescue'. Tieria felt ashamed, even if this wasn't the first time he'd bared all to the person asking if he was alright, but now that the light of that person had changed he couldn't help but hold back in front of him. He could hear the worry in the 'younger' Haptism's voice, and he knew that he couldn't lie to him…not about this.

The second youngest told him what his brother had said, told him that he had kissed him and was completely unaware as to what needed to happen. As expected a silence filled the air, followed by a tenseness that made Tieria want to run. Allelujah wasn't a tense person; he was the kind of guy that didn't let much get to him, always had a sunny disposition when it came to any and all circumstances…but those truths had momentarily changed in that moment. Without looking up he could tell the other male felt…_something_. Anger, hurt, disgust, he wasn't sure what the other was feeling, but he did know that it was something so unlike himself.

Everything was his fault…if Tieria had stayed in the kitchen, completely ignoring the 'elder' Haptism's odd behavior and stuck to botching what was supposed to be dinner then he could've reminded in ignorant bliss. As he watched Allelujah mimicked his brother, walking over to the front door and retrieve both his jacket and shoes, he had to wonder just what the older male was going to do. He couldn't tell just what was going through his mind, the probability that he would resort to something so unlike his normal behavior was high and that fact frightened him. But what could he do? The second youngest could barely look at him, too ashamed at his feeling towards him.

The feeling of mortification didn't just end there, oh no, that would've been too easy. It would've been slightly better if his feelings were only directed at one of the Haptism twins…however, they were directed at _both_. His feelings for Hallelujah had changed significantly; he didn't feel like killing the bastard at all, nor did he feel any resentment for knowing of his existence…but the worst by far was the fact that he was beginning to view the 'elder' Haptism as he did the younger one.

Tieria Erde was starting to _fall_ for the other male.

No…god no, why did things have to turn out the way they did? But there were only so many times he could blame himself…so he stopped. The second youngest felt himself slowly shut down after that, no longer wanting to feel things such as 'heartache' or 'shame'…he just wanted to feel numb. And what was exactly what he felt after that point; he couldn't bring himself to have any normal interactions with the Haptism twins, and seemingly vise-versa, the two never saying much to the other or him for that matter. It was wrong without a doubt for the three of them to not at least talk about what had happened that day, but there was a time and place for everything…he just didn't know when their time would come. So they distanced himself from one another…which was probably the best thing for them.

The second youngest spent most of his time in the guest room by himself, trying to figure out if he was even worth anyone's time. In his emotionless state he knew that he wasn't, so the second youngest tried to keep to himself and pretend that he was the only one around. However, he was not stupid enough to shut out _everything_ that was going on around him; if he was asked to do something he did it, if he was asked to go somewhere he went, and if someone needed helped…he helped. Most of the requests came from, strangely enough, the mother of the twins. He had never once heard the woman's name through all the years he had known the Haptism twins, and it wasn't until his time of semi-self isolation that he managed to learn it. Lilith, a name suggested to her parents by friends who had just come back from an overseas trip (something her father didn't necessarily approve of). It was a beautiful name he had to admit, though to be fair it wasn't common practice to call an adult by their first name so of course he wouldn't have learned it unless he asked.

If one was not on friendly terms with someone of a higher authority, it was considered extremely disrespectful to address them by their first name and without an honorific. Tieria thought of himself as a respectful individual…at least to the people he didn't know well. But there were times where respected needed to be put on the back burner…mainly the times he had to deal with either his parents or Ribbons. When addressing them it was always in a mocking tone, basically telling them that he didn't give a damn what they said. Respect was something given to those who deserved it…not to those who thought they did.

It was strange just how much the blonde haired woman talked about her husband, always commenting at some point that he was 'a good man' and that he 'loved his family'. She sounded obsessed…but through that obsession he could hear the deep love she constantly talked about. His initial reaction was that it must've been nice, to love someone so deeply without the disapproval of others…but it wasn't until he heard the _full_ story that his thinking changed. Lilith was, for a lack of better words, an outcast…shunned by her own family because she married a half Chinese half Russian man. Apparently they disapproved of Japanese 'mixing' with other races…well it was mostly her father who believed this, and his reason stemmed from the fact that his daughter was not truly _his_. As horrible as that sounded, it was nothing compared to their complete disownment of their own child because she bared the children of a foreigner.

Sick…that's what it was…it was sick.

After being told so much, the second youngest had to question just _why_ the blonde haired woman was allow him to glimpse into her broken life. He managed to bring the topic up…though his timing wasn't the best in the world. She was intoxicated…a common sight he'd learned. Tieria didn't need to ask the twins why she drank to heavily, didn't need to guess the reason behind it because he already knew. Her love for her husband was deep, and because of her devotion it created a void after that man had passed away. She was trying to fill the void with a substance that would only bring her down further…He never noticed her drunken state when younger, though that was probably because he never actually spent too much time inside the Haptism's house…at least when others were fully awake that is.

He sat on the floor as she lied on the couch, vodka bottle in hand. It was a pitiful sight to say the least…but she truly was the only person in that house he could talk to. Could he have venture outside and spoke to the Dylandy twins or Setsuna? Of course he could've, but his will to do so was not strong enough. Besides, what would he talk about? How crappy his relationship with Allelujah and Hallelujah had gotten? How he would constantly find himself in the company of their alcoholic mother and her ramblings about her husband? There were certain things he knew shouldn't be talked about with other people, and his personal life just happened to be one of them. The second youngest also did not want any advice on the situation because it would only irritate him…further bring down his mood.

Setsuna wasn't the kind of person to pry into others lives unless he was invited…his husband was a completely different matter. Lockon had the habit of trying to 'fix' things when it came to the problems of those close to him, and 'fixing' was something the second youngest wanted to try on his own. If the situation was minor, then sure, he would've loved to have someone assisting him rather then trying to solve things on his own. But that was not the case…the situation he was in was serious, and the bonds he held with two other people were at stake if _someone_ didn't do _something_.

Tieria knew the older woman was awake because of her almost whisper like muttering; she did that quite often when heavily intoxicated, muttering about how she could've 'done better'. Just what she meant by that he wasn't sure, but he did know that it obviously had something to do with her late husband. Sighing a little he asked her just why he had become her outlet, though before he could even finish he felt the older woman slump against him, arms hanging limp over his shoulder as she did so. Her cheek was pressed against his, and the second youngest wasn't sure if he should push her away or leave her there. When she spoke his name, adding '-chan' at the end of it, the smell of vodka hit him and hit him hard. Coughing a little he listened as she asked if he 'thought she was a good mother', to which his body gave off a very strange reaction.

No…it wasn't that strange. His chest had tightened, because the woman before him had mentioned something that related to both of her children. They were…good people with good intentions, even though Hallelujah acted like he wasn't. They cared about him and tried to make him happy (though sometimes it was irritating), so much so that the end result was that he had fallen for the two of them. As he thought about just what he'd gone through with the two he couldn't help but allow the tears he's been holding back loose. His family was the cause of all of this…if they didn't exist he would've been able to actually feel happy, to actually accept the feelings that were being directed at him instead of ignoring and pushing them away.

As he began to let out all of his pent up emotion he told the woman behind him that she was indeed a good mother; she had raised two boys that were vastly different, but at the same time they had brought him happiness regardless of that fact. Lilith hugged him, and as she did so he could feel her sobbing as well, telling him over and over again that she was thankful her sons had met someone like him. As much as that hurt, it also brought a strange sense of ease over him. Tieria knew he needed to do something, and their mother had reminded him just what the two meant to him. To allow his family to break them apart would be unforgivable, and even if there were consequences for pursing a relationship with them…he should've been more then willing to take them on.

The Haptism twins were…precious to him.

So the day after Christmas the second youngest decided to speak to them, not caring if the two wanted to or not. But before he decided to trap the two into a conversation, it had become quite obvious that he needed to stop by his house and pick up more clothes. Tieria had found that the clothes he currently had were becoming useless, and as the sheer cold of the outside become more and more unbearable he knew he needed something heavier. It was probably a horrible idea to actually set foot in such a place after so long, but he really didn't have any other options if he didn't want to freeze to death. As he reached the hellhole that was labeled his 'home', he stopped momentarily a gazed at the backdoor that belonged to him.

Deep down he could feel that something was wrong, and the second youngest knew that he should've listened to what his body was telling him. Run…run and don't look back. But he needed those clothes, and he didn't want to be a burden on the Haptism twins by asking them to buy him new garments. So he went against his gut feeling…which in turn was a horrible idea. As soon as he had set foot inside his room he was roughly pulled to the side by his hair, his body slamming into the wall as a result. No…god no, he didn't want this, and as much as he wanted to scream at himself he was far to busy screaming from the immense pain that was coming from his right arm being wrenched behind him.

Of course it had to be Ribbons…he was the only one fit in that house to actually punish him thoroughly. As his cousin whispered seductively in his ear just how badly he wanted to torture him, the thought of crying out for help did occur to him. But who the hell was going to hear him? There was no one around and there was no way in hell the twins would magically come to his rescue…this was the reality of the situation. Actions had consequences both good and bad, and there was no stopping the events that had already been set in motion. So as his body was pushed against the ground he accepted the fact that something horrible was about to befall him, and because of this his body began to shut down immediately.

That was exactly how he ended up naked, clothes scattered around him in a hectic fashion. His cousin hadn't touched him, oh no, he was saving that for a later date…Instead he beat him, covering his body with bruises and leaving him exposed to the frigid air that blew in from the still open back door. He could also feel that he was bleed, but just from where he wasn't sure and the option of investigating didn't seem like a good one. Tieria didn't wish to cry, didn't wish to move…he just wanted to lie there and hope the cold air finally killed him. He was so tired of being treated like his life wasn't worth a damn, so tired of being beaten and touched by someone he barely knew and in the end be expected to do nothing about it. His body was tired, his mind was tired, and he had never once in his life wanted to extinguish his flame as much as he wanted to at that very moment.

The only this his mind could focus on was the abuse he had received in the past, the abuse he had received currently and the possible abuse he'd received in the future. Anything involving Allelujah and Hallelujah had been pushed so far back into his physic that they seemed to almost disappear…how lucky. He wanted that…to just disappear from the world without a trace, leaving nothing of himself behind. Closing his eyes he allowed himself to be taken over by the feeling of despair, distancing himself from the world around him.

He didn't care about time…didn't care that someone was calling his name or that his body was being lifted. The second youngest knew that something was going on, but as he continued to sink further and further into a darkness he was not familiar with, his body not allow him to acknowledge anything that was going on. That was fine…To feel was to experience what he had gone through another time, and he didn't want to feel the harsh blows that were given to his body, and he especially didn't want to remember just how much pleasure his cousin was taking in actually committing the act.

_Tieria…_

No…not that voice again…It was so gentle, so full of concern as it called out to him, pleading for him to wake.

_Please…_

No…he didn't want to be brought back into the world, not in his current condition. He liked the darkness, liked how there was no one around to hurt him and vise-versa. Was it wrong for him to bask in the loneliness that engulfed him? Probably…but at the moment it felt so comfortable being by himself. It was different…to actually have no one around was a feeling he strangely wasn't use to anymore, because after so many years of having someone there for him he had almost forgotten the feeling. However he wanted that feeling back, and he'd block out anyone or anything to-

"WAKE THE HELL UP!"

That…did the trick. As much as he wanted to stay in the emptiness around him, the sound of another yelling had forcible pulled him back into a world he had no right to be in. It was bright, so much so that he needed to partially cover his face with his right arm, shielding it. It was then he started to notice a number of things…the first being that he was no longer naked. The arm that pressed against his face, the one blocking the bright lights from coming in direct contact with his eyes, had a sleeve on it. That indicated that there must've been a shirt attached to it. It seemed oversized, the sleeve that was, so it was clear that it did not belong to him at all.

The second thing that caught his attention was the lack of cold hitting his body; instead the overwhelmingly feeling of warmth had taken him over, it obviously having something to do with the futon he was lying against. Since he was on his back, he slowly turned over on his side and pressed his cheek against the pillow behind his head, liking how the soft texture felt against his skin. Then there was the smell…it was nostalgic, so much so that his chest began to tighten a little. It was _his_ scent…the one he had been avoiding for so long…

"Tieria, are you…alright?"

Allelujah…he didn't need to look over to confirm it, he just knew. The time to run or hid had come and gone, so the only option he had was the face the person he'd been keeping at a distance for so long. He was scared though, so completely unaware of just how the conversation would turn out or if the slightly older male would accept what he wanted to say. But that fear needed to be pushed aside, because if not he would never reconnect with the other and thus ending something that should not have been broken in the first place. So he sucked it up and began to sit up, which should've been an easy task but due to the intense pain in his abdomen he barely made it to his knees, the second youngest having to hold side in the process. Of course the 'younger' Haptism was right there for him, asking once again if he was okay as he held him slightly.

"I-I'm fine…" Tieria muttered, clearly lying. God did he miss the warmth coming from the other, and he couldn't help but relax into his chest, feeling that he was once again at home.

It was true…it had taken him some time to realize it but Allelujah, his brother, their house, all of it made up what he considered to be his 'home'. The house he had left, the one with the large garden and numerous rooms, was nothing more then the place he'd been raised in and in no way could be called anything more then a prison. This was where he belonged…in the arms of the person he had such deep feelings for, in a house that held no coldness towards him and away from the people who detested his very existence. Burying his face in the other's chest he began to tell the other about what he'd been keeping inside for far too long.

"Allelujah, I-"

"I'm so sorry…I should've gone with you…if I did this wouldn't have-"

"No, I don't wanna talk about the now…maybe later," He interrupted in a somewhat stern matter, knowing that there were more pressing matters at the moment, "I…like you…no, it wouldn't be right to say something like that…I love you, and I think I always have…"

The second youngest felt the slightly older male tense up, which was completely understandable seeing that he had just confessed to him. Would he accept his feels or…was it too late? Had he waited too long? That would've been too much…but it also would've been his own fault since it had taken him forever to gather up enough courage to actually speak the words he just had. Just as he was about to explain that it was alright if the older male didn't feel the same way anymore, he felt his body shift slightly followed by the feeling of something soft pressing against his lips. Allelujah was…kissing him. It felt different then his brother's kiss…it was much gentler, as if their lips were barely touching one another. The second youngest couldn't help but feel a little flush, and with his reddened state come a slightly confusion he wasn't expecting.

Why the hell didn't he know what to do? If he was being kissed, wouldn't the most obvious course of action be to kisses said person back? But yet his body for some reason refused to move. It was probably shock, though to be fair it should've gotten use to it somewhat since this had not been his first kiss from one of the Haptism twins. But after a few seconds his body decided to snap out of it and kiss the slightly older male back, his always flushed face becoming even deeper with color. It felt…nice to actually kiss someone rather then be forced down and beaten because he refused to. That was something he probably shouldn't have been thinking about at the moment, because as soon as that though entered his mind he couldn't help but part with the other.

"I-I'm sorry…" The second oldest said as he held his mouth slightly, "I-It's not your fault…"

The memories of Ribbons were still very fresh in his mind, so being touched in such a way just made them more vivid. It truly wasn't Allelujah's fault, and it couldn't be helped that such a small action brought back so many bad thoughts. Instead he told the second oldest to just hold him, and with a nod the other complied. Somewhere down the line he had managed to nod off, basking in the warmth that was the other male. It was probably the deepest sleep he'd had since he isolated himself from the Haptism twins. All the while he knew Allelujah was with him; it was so strange how the second youngest never once noticed how much the other really held him, how much he allowed him to open up and just be himself, or how the slightly older male always seemed to be there for him.

He really did love him…

Upon finally regaining consciousness he found that the other had left, and with good reason. Looking out the window he could clearly see that the sun had set, meaning the slightly older male was probably downstairs preparing dinner. Not really wanting to be alone, he gather the still very warm blanket and wrapped it around him. It still hurt for him to move around, but Tieria fought through the pain in order to be with the person that brought him comfort. He stumbled a little but managed to brace himself against the wall before regaining some balance, which was easier said then done. It was rather clear that the beating he'd received was the worst yet, this point becoming much clearer when he finally noticed the bandages on his legs, face, and neck (so the bastard had tried to strangle him too…). There was no way in hell he could ever go back to such a place, and if he did he'd definitely bring someone with him.

Was this…what he'd been waiting for? Was this the moment where the chain around his neck finally began to creak? Had he finally found a reason to run? It would seem so…That thought gave him just a little more strength, making it so he no long had to lean against the wall for support. After making it out of the guest bedroom, he stopped momentarily to catch his breath. Okay, so maybe making it downstairs would be a little harder then he imaged…

"You should be resting…" Came a voice from behind him. If course it startled him, but it didn't take long for him to regain his composure. Looking over his shoulder he noticed the 'elder' Haptism sitting against the wall, head down and looking not particularly interesting in him. Of course…he still needed to speak to him as well, and the fact that he had briefly forgotten about that made a knot form in his stomach. He was just as much a part of his current situation as his brother was, because it was clear that he was the one that had woken him up.

Who else could it have been? It wasn't in the 'younger' Haptism's nature to yell like that, so it had to be his brother. But…he wasn't going to be easy to talk to, since it was in _his_ nature to be stubborn. So he decided to sit down next to him, giving his legs a well needed break. To actually see a somber Hallelujah was a strange thing, and it was clear that his mood had been fowled by the events that had taken place that day. Why shouldn't he be pissed off? There was a good chance that he was on that had found him on the ground, taken him back to his place in a panic and probably needed to calm his brother down so the second youngest could be tended to. All of that combined would wear anyone down, and even though it was surprising it was nice to actually see the other male acting human for once.

That's right…the 'elder' Haptism was now human; in the past there were only two sides to the other male, those being playful and pissed off. It just wasn't right…normal people did act like that, normal people were complex and had more then just two sides to them, but as time went on all of those complexities slowly began to come out. It might've just been a matter of trust or maybe it was better to say that his defenses were up for some reason, but once that 'wall' decided to come down it could be seen the other male was just as complex as everyone else. He was…interesting to say the least, and just being around him was an experience in itself. The second oldest was the kind of person who seemed to distrust the world, but at the same time was looking to be proven wrong. Maybe that's why he decided to take up photography…to see the world in a different light and prove that it wasn't as distorted as he initially believed.

Hesitating for a moment he leaned against the slightly older male, noticing as he did so Hallelujah didn't flinch, tense up or really move at all. He knew why…if he had overheard the confession there was a good chance that he no longer wanted to pursue him. That wasn't what Tieria wanted…It probably hurt the slightly older male to overhear that his feelings probably wouldn't be returned. That…wasn't necessarily true…

"U-Um…I like you too-"

"Don't say stupid stuff like that…I really don't need your pity so just go back to my brother…"

That…hit pretty deep. It looked as if the slightly older male had really lost all faith in him, meaning that it would take much more then a simple 'I look you too' to get his attention. He really did care for him, maybe not in the exact way as his brother, but it was pretty damn close. Tieria didn't want to lose him, and even though the word 'annoyed' was written all over his body, he knew the 'elder' Haptism still cared about him deeply. After all if he didn't, why was he still there? Love was an overly complicated emotion, one that he wished didn't bring long time friends to choose between people they had known for years. It wasn't like he could be shared like Setsuna, happily living with two people and dating them at the same time.

Hallelujah wasn't like that…he probably wanted him all to himself, and would be damned if his brother got in the way. But leaving someone high and dry was out of the question, so there had to be a way to please both of them without making it seem he was favoring one over the other. That seemed liked too much…however; it was the only way to keep the two happy, not to mention keep the two of them in his life. Another thing that was easier said then done…

"Don't…don't leave me-"

"Tieria, look…" The 'elder' Haptism started, sighing heavily as he did so, "I'm not good for you, so you might as well be with Allelujah. Please don't screw around with me…just because I confessed to you doesn't mean you have to act like you have actual feelings for me. There's no way the three of us can work something out…"

That was a lie. The three of them could work something out, and judging by the tone of the other male's voice he desperately did not want his own words to be true. Those were not the words of someone who had completely given up…Instead it seemed like the words of someone who wanted to be proven wrong, who didn't truly want something a precious as a bond to between three people to just be severed. That was all Tieria needed to know…and as he reached up, pulling the other down into his chest, he told him that everything would be fine. It would be…he was sure of it. The other male stayed silent for a few minutes before groaning slightly, a sign that he was far more irritated then before or that he had just given up the fight.

"You're stubborn as all hell, you know that?"

"That must be why you like me."


	18. The Graduation Chapter

_**A/N:**_ Whoa, how long has it been since I've done one of these? Ten chapters? God that's a lot…but oh well! If you haven't noticed the rating has changed, which means that there's going to be some (ahem) intimate scenes.

* * *

There was a good chance that something was going to go wrong…only because his nervous had gotten the better of him and it did seem like he'd return to a calm state anytime soon. But he needed to get through what he was feeling because he'd be damned if he messed up something that had been building up for months, not to mention he wasn't the only person involved so of course he couldn't ruin the experience for the both of them. He couldn't screw this up…especially since the day would not only served as his first time with his husband, but as well as a release from an establishment that had caused him so much angst.

Yes…Setsuna F Seiei had _**finally**_ graduated high school.

God did it feel good to actually be free from something that had been wearing him down for the past two years, though to be fair the events actually leading up to his graduation seemed to make up for years past. It started on the day on New Years, and he was quite surprised with how the day happened to turn out. Since New Years was a much bigger deal than Christmas he along with the Dylandy twins actually wanted to do something other then stay in, which was completely understandable since they had done nothing but stay inside and do practically nothing. It was strange how not being active actually felt nice, but because he was the kind of person who needed to do something with his time a small pinch of guilt made itself know every now and then.

Though to be completely fair his definition of 'nothing' was apparently different then his husband's; he did still clean the apartment, but the real difference was that he wasn't as methodical as he usually was. For example if a pile of clothes had somehow managed to accumulate in a corner, something that rarely happed because he was _that_ much of a neat freak, instead of picking everything up and immediately taking it down to the wash he merely folded it and placed it in the basket. Just doing something like that made his heart sink a little…To just leave something without giving it full attention was completely out of his nature, and it became pretty clear that he could not keep up with something so completely not like him for too much longer. The youngest would obsess over it, telling himself over and over again that he needed to do it properly, so much so that it was starting to drive him mad.

However…he was trying his best because he wanted to spend more time with Lockon and Lyle. It was the holidays and to not spend time with the people one held close was unacceptable, so he tried his best to tone down his rather…perfectionistic behavior. The apartment didn't need to be cleaned everyday…sure it might've been impressing the older males, but that wasn't what they wanted. They wanted his time, and he seemed to be wasting it with keeping a room that he probably wasn't going to living it forever clean. Setsuna's priorities needed to be straightened out, he knew this, but he was trying and that should've earned him a few points.

Of course he still did the cooking, though he was trying to allow both his husband and Lyle to help him. He just…liked doing things himself, but it once again came down to the 'he wasn't giving them enough time' fact so the only thing he could do was hold his fears back and hope that the apartment building was still standing after they had finished. Surprisingly…it was. The youngest had found that it wasn't really a matter of them not having any talent at all, the two just needed to know the basics. Boiling water, cracking eggs, copping vegetables correctly, cooking on a low temperature, salting food, and so many other lesson were taught to them (or at least attempted to) over the span of a few days. It was especially happy that his teachings happened to take place during break, because the Dylandy twins had almost completely wore him out by the time New Years had finally rolled around.

Setsuna had never been so fed up with food in his entire life. On and on and on they went, botching recipes, messing up the kitchen, burning pots (which would take god know how long to clean)…it was too much for him. The younger male had built up quite a bit of patients when it came to his husband, but over the course of only a few days it had somehow managed to dwindle down to the point where he needed to leave the room the breath. However they must've noticed this (how the _hell_ could they not), they had taken on the responsibility of clearing everything they screwed up…and because he could he had taken it upon himself to make sure everything was _**spotless**_. He'd give them hell if there was so much of a speck on anything, but the two didn't take what he said seriously though they still tried to correct their mistake regardless. However, he was pretty goddamn serious…but he allowed them believe whatever they wanted.

The day before New Years he received call from Christina asking if he, along with the Dylandy twins, wanted to come to Shibuya and participate in a hatsumode with her and Feldt. A hatsumode was basically the first shrine visit of the New Year, sometime he'd only tried a few times after moving to Japan. There a very small shrine located in the village, and every once in a while he would company everyone to said shrine to pray for good fortune alone with a number of other things. Now this didn't bother him at all, visiting a shrine and giving prayer weren't that big of a deal to him…what did bother him was that fact that if he did accept he'd be traveling to a place he'd never been to before. That brought a bit of anxiety to him; though he had actually thought about travel, the process of doing do worried him slightly. His apprehension didn't stem from the fact that he would be traveling in general, but because he knew that to take a trip meant the youngest would have to board the train at one point or another.

It was a known fact that Japanese train stations were one of the most crowed forms of transportation in the world. That meant people pushing up against him, shoving him and forcing up against other people. Setsuna did not like the thought of that at all. However…to have his fear stop him from actually going out would be foolish, so instead of hiding away he agreed…knowing full well what that meant. He tried his best to psyche himself out, telling his mind over and over again that the train would be nothing more then a minor part of his day.

And he truly wished that thought had stayed with him the next morning.

As soon as they entered the train station the youngest couldn't help but cling to his husband, holding the older male's wrist to the point where he knew it was probably hurting him. There were so many people, all of which looked like they were in a hurry and all of which seemed as if they didn't care who they bumped into. But he did care…the mere thought of someone rubbing themselves up against him made his body cower away every so slightly behind Lockon. This was too new…it wasn't like before when his husband would take him out in the middle of the night, allow him to gradually get use to being around so many people. Because of that gradual exposure he thought he had mostly gotten over his fear of being around so many people…but it was pretty damn obvious that those fears had come back full force.

He couldn't help but tense up as a hand was placed on top of his head, but his nervous were eased only slightly when he heard Lyle tell him that everything was going to be 'alright'. He knew it would be alright because both of the twins were with him, meaning that the likelihood of something happening to him was close to zero. But the youngest couldn't shake the feeling that something horrible was going to happen to, the thought causing him to hold onto his husband tighter. It was then that he was told that if need be he'd be protected from the other people, the two saying that they would shield from as many bumps and shoves as possible. Setsuna thought about this as the three of them retrieved their temporary passes, since the whole process of applying for one that could easily be recharged would take far too much time and time was something they didn't want to waste.

If the two were indeed going to protect him, didn't that mean they'd be taking a good deal of the bumping and shoving from other people? Or better said, wouldn't they be taking more then what they were supposed to be? That didn't seem fair…As much as he didn't want to, he slowly began to let go of the older male, saying that he would be 'fine' without their protection. He didn't want them to earn any bruises on his behalf, and for some reason the strange thought that actually getting bumped into was some sort of rite of passage occurred to him. After all it was their first time to _ever_ set foot in an actual train station, the only mode of transportation the three ever using in the past being either catching the bus or riding with their parents (though to be fair Setsuna had been on an airplane, but that was a one time deal), so it was only right that all three of them needed to experience everything that came long with it.

And boy did they…Setsuna had never seen so many people clamoring together in one spot, not even in his own school. But that was when they were merely standing on the platform, waiting for the right train to arrive…it became far more horrifyingly worse when the train _actually_ came. Before the youngest could even think his body was forcible shoved forward by the people behind him, Setsuna having to quickly grab onto both his husband and Lyle's shirt so the three of them were not separated. Once inside he found that all of the seats were taken (obviously), so that meant they'd have to stand along with the other unfortunate people who had missed the opportunity to grab one. There two things wrong with this…The first being that the possibility of him slamming into another human body was higher then he wanted to, making him cringe had he rubbed up against someone he didn't know and didn't want to.

The second, and probably most embarrassing, was that he couldn't reach the rail that hung from the ceiling or for that matter the triangular handle that hung from it. Well…it wasn't completely true that he couldn't reach the handle, he would've just looked like a monkey hanging from a tree, not to mention that his arm would tire too damn fast. He couldn't very well stand there, so what other option did he have? Lyle must've noticed his predicament, because the next thing he knew he was pressed against the older male's body, his free hand holding him in place. Before he could say anything he was told to 'hold onto him' since it was much better then 'just standing there', which probably did hold some truth to it. So he did what he was told, even if it did slightly go against his view on what should and should not be done in public.

He was warm compared to the cold air that blew in from the still open train door, and he couldn't help but relax into it. It was officially winter so of course that meant the coming days would only become ten time colder than what they were during fall, something he wasn't really looking forward to…unless it snowed. Just as he was about to get comfortable the train started to move, causing his body to sway a little more then he wanted it to. Of course he had not intention of letting the older male go…that was except if he did something stupid, though to be fair he wasn't as bad as his brother when it came to public contact. However, his surroundings were completely forgotten about once his eyes finally met with the glass window in front of him.

Beautiful…that the first thing his mind thought of when he saw the scenery rush by with extreme speed. It was different then being in a car or bus, that was for sure, and the youngest couldn't stop himself from becoming fascinated by it. This was travel…there where up and downs, but sometimes the most rewarding experience was seeing just how much ones environment changed in such a short period of time. Between being completely captivated by the scenery out the window and the swaying of the train compartment he had somehow lost his sense of time, only reminded when his body was given a small shake by the male holding him.

Apparently they had arrived, and judging the dialect that was being used around them as they existed the train it could easily be deducted that the three were no longer in Osaka. Shibuya, Tokyo…his first impression of the place was they it was busy, much more so then the small town and village he was use to. Thinking back he did recall Feldt saying something about it being 'active', but to what extent the youngest wasn't aware of until he actually set foot in the place. Upon existing the train station Setsuna was instantly hit with sensory overload; the first thing that hit him was the sound of the city, and because of his lack of travel he had damn near forgotten just what the 'sounds of the city' were. It had been so long…The village was the norm for him, so actually being exposed to such a place again felt odd.

The tapping of phone pads, the chatting of people, the honking of car hones and the loud music blaring from god knows where made him thankful that he not longer lived in such a noisy place. Then there were the sights, which probably the most important since the three needed to located a popular landmark in order to find the two girls, but the younger male was too focused (well really distracted) with what was going on around him to really remember that fact. Everything he heard (except the source of that goddamn music) he saw, and because of his wandering eyes he ended up running into a few people. Of course he apologized, though he did become a little confused on just which dialect he should've been using, Kansai or Kanto. Lockon, while in the midst of laughing a little, told him that he should probably calm down and just 'be himself'.

He wasn't the one running into people…

But he allowed himself to calm down, his body obviously trying to adjust to the new environment around him thus explaining his odd behavior. Returning to the main reason of their arrival, the three of them began looking for the landmark where they were supposed to meet both Christina and Feldt. They were looking for Hachiko, or rather the statue dedicated to the canine in question. He'd heard the story once before when he still attended school in the village, and was completely amazed at how one animal could be so loyal. The Akita would visit the train station every evening to meet his master, but unfortunately one day the man died in 1925, never again returning to the station. However, this did not stop the dog from routinely coming around the same time, and continued to do so for the next _ten years_ until his death.

Because of his immense loyalty, a statue was erected in his honor and had somehow become a popular meeting place for people. That was probably why the two had picked such a spot, because of its popularity as well as its ability to be located. Well…it was easily located if one actually knew where to look…but sadly they didn't. His husband eventually had to stop and ask a group of girls just where said statue was located, to which the girls giggled, answered, and then asked if he was 'meeting someone special'. That surprisingly got a rise out of Setsuna…Now he didn't believe he was the jealous kind, but for some reason he couldn't help shoot a glare in the girl's direction.

Maybe he was being _a little_ possessive, because there was no telling just how many people Lockon talked to (or how just how many of those people attempted to flirt with him) while the two of them were separated, but his feelings were understandable to some degree. When started out with nothing, no friends or anyone that was considered 'special', it was a common reaction to keep those things close once obtained. Though he probably wouldn't say it out loud (but he probably should've), but he'd be _damned_ if he lost his husband to some goddamn hussy they just met on the street!

Apparently his (mild) anger had been noticed by the older male, because his body was been pulled to the side slight, up against the other, with his cheek against his. Lockon then commented that 'he was his special person', to which the youngest nearly shoved him away for saying something like that in public and in front of people they didn't even know to boot. The girls quickly put their hands in the air slightly, admitting that their statement wasn't intended to be 'like that' (yeah right…) before quickly retreating with their tails between their legs. Once completely out of view he was about to tell the other male that his actions were completely unnecessary, but before he could do so he was given a quick peck on the cheek and told that he was 'cute when jealous'.

Dammit, why did he have to say things like that when other people were around? Choosing to not comment at all, the youngest just walked away knowing the two behind him would follow. Was it really all that common to show ones affections in public? He didn't dare look around to found out, seeing as they were surrounded by what seemed like nothing but kids in their late teens and early twenties…so the odds of catching someone making out was high. But it was lewd…no one really wanted to see two people practically shoving their tongues down each other's throats, looking as if they're sucking each other's faces off. Things of that nature should've been saved for the privacy of a room, with no prying eyes or rude comments. However…Setsuna was really only looking at one side of the argument, favoring what the public eye saw opposed to what the couple thought.

The probably didn't care at all, because their affairs were theirs and no one else's. Lockon was like that…he really didn't care who saw them together, or if they said anything at all. The youngest wanted to be like that…and maybe if he was their relationship would've been different. Obviously they would've been much more physical, regardless of where they were; now he wasn't saying that they'd be all over one another (though his husband would've probably loved that), just that he'd allow for a little more touching and kissing _in public_ then normal. What went on behind closed doors had changed (slightly), and it was all thanks to his declaration of 'I wanna get laid on Graduation Day', something that caused him to feel quite anxious whenever he thought about it.

By that time he would've been seventeen, and maybe that age change would allow his nervous to mellow out…because at his current age there was no way in hell he would survive being touching like _that_ (he'd probably pass out from shock or fear…whichever hit him first).

Upon finding that statue, the youngest was pleasantly surprised to see that the Shibuya girls were not alone. The three that were with them had not been seen in days, and when they did make an appearance (only two of them though) it seemed as if something was deeply troubling them. But whatever it was had obviously been resolved (at least to some degree), because the three looked like they usually did. Annoyed, content, and pleased…To see them back to normal made the fact that Hallelujah, Tieria and Allelujah were back all the more enjoyable. The younger male had missed their company, and continued to feel a slight emptiness without them around. However he knew they had their own personal problems to attend to, and even though he wasn't sure of the exact problem was he had confidence that whatever it was would be resolved without any casualties. And thankfully that seemed to be the case.

After a small bit of chit-chat, they were told by Christina that instead of their original plan to attend Meiji Shrine the group would visit a small less well known shrine. The reason she gave was that she knew that the youngest had a 'thing' about large crowed, and wanting everyone to have a good time decided that picking another place was the better option. That was rather thoughtful of her, and it was also a nice thing that she actually remembered something that was only briefly spoken about in their conversations on the rooftop of the school. No one seemed to mind this (though of course the 'elder' Haptism just _had_ to say something, and of course he was nudged in the stomach by Tieria), so the eight of them were off to do their very first shrine visit of the New Year.

While following the brunette along with everyone else, Setsuna couldn't help but think about the possibility of moving to a major city in the near future. It would be a rather big change, one he wasn't sure he'd be willing enough to handle. He liked the slow life the village and both towns held, but he knew that in order to truly move 'up' in the world he couldn't stay in such a place forever. He'd heard people talk about it before, how it was impossible to be anything more then a 'small town hick' if one didn't leave the nest for good. The youngest didn't think of himself as a hick…but there had to be some truth in not amounting to much if one did not expand.

Though…he liked the slow life he was living at the moment, liked that he didn't have to rush to get from one place to another. He did wish to do something with his life, but maybe he didn't actually need to leave home to achieve such a goal. Not to mention actually moving away from something he'd grown so close to would only cause stress in his life, and the last thing he wanted was for his personal life to affect his professional one. Setsuna would find some sort of job that would put him at ease, and said job would not be found in the city…not if he wanted to keep his mental state fairly normal.

His mental state…he was sure it would keep him from doing the things he wanted in life. But as long as he had those close to him it was bound to get better, because it was not something he could take on by himself…he now knew this. Hiding what was ailing him only made the problem worse, and it wasn't like he didn't trust those who called him a 'friend' or a 'lover'. It was more of an embarrassment and burden issue then it was a trust one, because he _did _put a lot a trust in them, doing so on a daily basis. Setsuna just couldn't get past the thought that he was going to be looked at differently if he admitted there was something wrong with him, or for that matter that treated differently. But…hadn't he already admitted to his husband that something was wrong with him? And wasn't the end result the exact opposite of what he thought?

So…was it just a matter of him getting over the hurdle that was his own negativity? It would seem that was the case…

Upon reaching the shrine (which was only a twenty minute walk from the station), the eight of them immediately made their way to the middle of the area, but not before bowing slightly at the main gate to show their respect. Upon making it to their destination they stopped in front of a large collection box, a rope dangling at the front of it. He knew what it was attached to…a bell that was attached somewhere within the rafters of the building, that was supposed to alert the 'kami' that dwelled within of their presence once rung. Of course they had skipped a step in their 'worship', the cleaning of the hands with the water from the stone wash basin, but it was far too cold for something like that and it appeared that the water had frozen over. Everyone began rummaging through pockets and bags, looking for an offering to which they would give to the gods.

Five yen was the usual amount. After everyone had found their respected amount, the small coins were thrown into the collection box, commencing the ritual. Everyone grabbed onto the rope, swinging it every so slightly to make the bell above ring, it sounding much more pleasant to the ears then the loud city around them. Next all of them bowed, not one but twice, very deeply of course. Then there was the clapping, which was done twice as well, but at the end of the second the hand were supposed to be kept together while the person in question made a wish of sorts (well really it was a prayer). Everyone was silent when this time came, and it was probably one of the few times all of them would ever remain in such a quiet state will the others were around.

Setsuna had come to the conclusion that he had the strange ability to draw 'energetic' people to him, and he was sure it was a matter of 'opposites attract'. _Everyone_ that had befriended him had some sort of overly peppy side to them or would some how hold an amazing amount of energy (this would surprisingly include Feldt…who he would never go shopping with again), and he thought it was merely a way to balanced him out.

After everyone was done one last bow was given, a little deeper then the first two, the ritual was officially over. The youngest did feel a little better after he was done, though he did know that because he along with everyone else was done that things would go right back to normal. So it came as no surprise to him when he was pulled back into Lockon's chest, all the while asked what he had prayed for. It wasn't much really…just that all of his loved one had a good year. It might've seemed boring or maybe a little cliched, but it was truthfully the only thing he really wanted…for everyone to be happy. But of course he didn't tell his husband any of this, telling him to 'figure it out' as he walked away. The youngest wasn't going to just leave the shrine, that would be just stupid on his part because the city would obviously overwhelmed him if alone; instead he was merely looking for the small vending machines that would produced omikuji.

Omikuji, or 'sacred lottery', was just that, a fortune written on a piece of rectangular paper that predicted if one would have good, moderate, or bad luck for the rest of the year. He'd always wanted to try, only because the small shrine in the village didn't possess them. Though to be truthful he wasn't so keen on believing what the small piece of paper had to say…he just wanted to see. Upon finding them he noticed Christina frantically tying what looked liked the fortune in question to a tree limb. She must've received a bad one…It was common practice to tie a omikuji to a tree if the person in question had been given a bad fortune, and judging by the younger female's face it must've been horrible.

Instead of asking he proceeded over to the box, removing a small coin from his pocket and slipping it into the coin slot of the machine. After a few short seconds a small rolled up piece of paper fell from the small slot near the bottom. The youngest looked at if for a moment, almost hesitant to pick it up. It wasn't like he was going to believe what it said, right? So there was no reason for him to act of the thing was going to predict his doom…right? Picking it up slowly he unraveled it, letting out a small sigh as the words 'excellent fortune' flashed across the top of the paper. But it _wasn't_ excellent…As he read down through the various aspects of his life that would be blessed (travel, business, studies, etc.), but he couldn't help but stare at one feature in particular. His love life…It would've been just fine if it had said 'everything would continue to be prosperous' or something to that degree…but oh no…it just had to say that his love life would 'most definitely be taken to a new level' and that 'excitement would be waiting just around the corner'.

Goddammit…why did it have to say that? The last thing he wanted to think about that day was the intimate matter both he and his husband would tend to during graduation, because he actually wanted to look at the other without feeling embarrassed. But apparently the gods of the shrine had other plans for him…not to mention that he hadn't even noticed that someone was read over his shoulder until the small piece of paper was snatched out of his hand, and unfortunately into the hands of the of the last person he ever wanted to see it. Hallelujah…Quickly turning around he watched in horror as the second oldest skimmed over the small sheet of paper, a smirk forming on the older male's face all the while. That wasn't good. The first, and probably the worst, action that came to mind was to retrieve to wretched paper from the other, though of course he did run into a few obstacles.

Height being just one of them…Even while standing on his tips of his toes he couldn't reach the note at the older male held it up in the air as an obvious way to taunt him, Setsuna's annoyance growing all the while. Why did the 'elder' Haptism choose that exact moment to be an ass? Granted it was nice to actually see him acting like himself, but he seriously could've chosen a better time! He tried over and over again to swipe the piece of paper from the other male, shouting that what was written on it was 'none of his business'. Unfortunately after a good few minutes the person whose business it actually was made an appearance, snatching away the piece of paper and wondering why Hallelujah was 'playing keep away with his wife'. This day was just getting better…The youngest felt his stomach drop as the other read his fortune, but was mildly surprised when he remarked that there was nothing wrong with it.

Was he…that dense? But he wasn't going to say anything because that denseness was preventing him from _really_ noticed what that fortune said, and just for good measure and soon as he heard a single word come out of the 'elder' Haptism's mouth he kicked him in the shin. As the older male let out what was probably the longest string of curses he'd heard in quite some time, the youngest took his husband (and Christina just incase something happened to her) and returned to the others. So maybe the shrine visit wasn't all that great…so then what made up for the rest of the day? The sight seeing and food of course.

Upon leaving the shrine, the brunette, along with her friend, decided that since it was their first time in Shibuya that they should take a quick tour…at least until it became dark, which would be in the next eight hours. Once again no one seemed to mind this, and the thought of just leaving the shrine to do anything was better then going home. It didn't seem right, going home that was, especially since it was their first time every traveling outside of Osaka…so didn't that mean they had a right to have some fun in a new place? Setsuna thought so…

With all the walking, sight-seeing, eating, more walking, and buying various objects, the youngest had managed to completely wear himself out. The sun had already set by the time all of them had made it back to the station, Setsuna having to hitch a ride on his husband's back just to make it. In his tired state he thanks his tour guilds, adding that he'd loved to visit again some time soon. With a weak wave the group then lost two of them members, bringing the total down to six. The youngest was so far gone that he didn't even remember the train ride home, or for that matter actually making it back to apartment. However, that was the priced he paid for being too tired, though it was one he gladly paid because he felt completely refreshed upon waking up.

The second major event that occurred that year happened three weeks after he had returned to school…and it was one that was long past due to happen. Everything had basically gone back to normal the moment he set foot on school grounds, right back to the hustle and bustle that was his daily life. He didn't miss it in the slightest, but he knew the moment break actually started that it wouldn't last forever. So the youngest stuck to his usual no complaining ways and went about with his usual hellish days…but something had changed slightly. He didn't…feel like he was just coasting through the day, completely numb to most of the things around him. The youngest actually felt alright while inside the building, not great or excellent, but alright.

It was pretty much set in stone that he would _never_ feel great while sitting in a silent room, and he most definitely wouldn't feel any kind of excellence when that sitting requiring him to also stare at a board for hours on end. Setsuna could not live his life in such a way forever, because he knew it would drive him to do something he'd regret. College was different, it needed to be, mainly because he couldn't possible take four years of just sitting and listening to lectures. It was pretty obviously what he needed in his life, and it was a shame he hadn't realized it sooner…stimulation…something his school was not giving him. The routine nature of everything was making him bored, so much so that he didn't feel like doing anything half the time and thus making his mind dull in the process. He never thought much of it in the past, seeing his lack of doing anything 'worthwhile' as just in his nature.

But he was wrong…

He _needed_ to do something, _needed_ to put his mind to work instead of allow it to go into cruise control. But…what could he do? He did like art, but it was far too late for him to join any kind of club that related to it. Though…it wasn't like he could actually draw in front of anyone, let alone display his work for the world to see…that was just the kind of person he was. So then what? Would he continue to do absolutely nothing to stimulate his mind until he graduated? That didn't seem like a bad plan…if he knew what the problem was the youngest would easily prepare for what needed to be done in the future, and seeing as how he still needed to apply to a college it made the choosing all the more meaningful.

The day in question happened to be a Saturday, a half day, meaning a good majority of the students were irritated, sleepy, and just plain unmotivated. It was lunch time, and since it was still a bit too cold to actually eat on the roof it was decided that eating in Christina's classroom was the next best option. The room was completely empty, though of course the brunette had asked permission before hand if the room could be use without adult supervision. All the rooms in the school looked the same to him, so he didn't spend too much time analyzing and comparing the previous rooms he'd been in to the one he was already in. School was school, unless he needed to chart a new course to a room he didn't over think the mapping of the building too much.

Setsuna was slightly more awake that day, mainly because Lyle had been given the day off so that meant he'd be home all day. It was a bit funny to be honest, the story so outrageous that at first he thought he was hearing something out of a fictional book. Apparently their teacher wasn't the in best of moods Friday, and since said teacher was known for giving out harsh punishments when in such a mood the class was trying their best to not to piss the guy off. Everything was going well, so well that it seemed almost too good to be true…and it was. Five minutes before class was supposed to end their teacher asked for the homework that was supposed to be done over break, the _very_ same homework Setsuna constantly hounded the two of them to do.

Only four people out of the class of thirty-three turn in their work…obviously the teacher was _**not**_ pleased. So what punishment did the class receive? Everyone who did not turn in the assignment would stay in class all day to finish it…meaning that their half a day would be turned into a full one, and when told this Setsuna swore his stomach dropped to the floor. To be home all by himself didn't sit well with him, and inviting people over would've felt awkward since he knew they probably had plans of their own. But before he could completely freak out he was then told that Lyle was among the four that had actually done their homework, and since there was no telling just what he did after everyone was asleep the youngest kept his 'when did he-' questions to himself. It was a huge relief that he wasn't going to be alone.

About five minutes into lunch the younger male realized that he had forgotten his bag in his class room, which was strange since it was something he had with him practically all the time. However, it was completely normal to forget things once in a while, but as he left the brunette's classroom, Tieria asking if he should accompany him (to which he declined), Setsuna couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. He'd never actually been back to his classroom for anything while it was lunch, so he wasn't sure what he'd find upon entering the room. His body felt heavy for some reason, like it was telling him that he probably should've turned back and forget about his bag. But…he needed it…Inside that bag was his ring, the very same one that had been given to him on Christmas by his husband…and the more he thought about that ring the quicker his feet started to move.

The moment he reached his room, stopping in front of the door instead of going it, panic began to take of his body. His classmates didn't like him…and because of that hate they'd sink to any level to make his life miserable. But…it'd be completely inhuman to touch something like a ring, because no one brought a ring around with them that didn't mean something. To them it would've probably been nothing more then a toy, something they could taunt him with because, well, they could. That thought stuck with him…making him feel a kind of anger he'd never felt before. The youngest knew that just standing there and getting upset wasn't going to help him at all, so after take a deep breath he opened the door.

And of course he regretted it…Setsuna's heart dropped as he witnessed the crowed of students sitting in the back of the room, both Trinity siblings present. That wasn't a good sign…the next thing he saw was a dead give away that his retrieval of his possession would be much harder then originally planned. Michael Trinity was holding up his ring by the chain, the very same chain given to him by Lyle three days after Christmas in case he 'didn't want to wear the ring around his finger all day'. Not one, but _two _very personal objects of his were being touched by people that were in no way worthy of doing so. Upon being noticed the group of students laughed, Nena commenting that she didn't know that he was 'somebody's bitch'.

That struck him in such a way that caused his fist to tighten, because not only was she insulting him but she was insulting Lockon. The youngest didn't like it…_at all_. However, he kept his outward appearance unchanged, even when his insiders were screaming. It was strange though…in the past he never allowed what they said to really get to him, always allowing it to bounce off of him so he could concentrate on other things, but for some reason…he wasn't letting what they said go. They were all degenerates…none of them deserved any of his time, but he stayed because he needed that ring back. Stepping forward he reached for the ring, asking rather nicely if he could have it back.

Obviously he was denied.

Upon getting himself pushed back his anger grew, but he still kept it to himself, because doing something stupid wasn't going to help. Michael couldn't keep his mouth shut after his attempt to get back what was rightfully his, saying thing that stung him so deeply that he almost couldn't take it…_almost_…The younger male was trying his best to hold on to what little self-restraint he had, because he really wasn't sure how he'd react once he'd fully let loose. Sure, when younger he would constantly get irritated at his husband, yelling and hitting him once he became too fed up with him.

But the way he felt standing in front of the students that had tormented him throughout most of his school year was different, as if what he felt all those years ago could in no way compared. It was a little bit frightening…since he was in no way aware of what he was fully capable of once completely angered. Unfortunately he found out upon hearing the line 'the person fucking him obviously didn't love'. Something inside of the youngest snapped, _hard_, and the feeling that came after it completely took him over.

_**Pure rage**_…Bringing his fist back he thrust it forward, hitting the male Trinity square in his jaw, causing him to fall off of the desk he was sitting on. But that wasn't enough, no…Setsuna wasn't done. He didn't leave him, oh no, instead he continued, allowing his fists to fly against Michael's body without any restraint. The youngest could hear screaming, but he didn't care enough to actually bother to identify whose voice it was (he had a hunch that it was Nena's). He didn't feel anything other then wrath, so he didn't care that he was being yelled at to 'stop' because it wasn't 'funny'. Truth be told it actually was quite humorous; he'd been kicked around, tortured for a whole year, so was it really that big of a shock that the end result of all of that would be him snapping? To him their reaction was the funny part, and if he had not been focused on beating the living hell out of Michael the younger male would've laughed.

He wasn't sure how long the two of them had been down on the floor, but it wasn't until he was forced off of the other male by a teacher that he began to feel…strange. Setsuna felt light in the head, as if he was in-between the dream world and the real one. It felt…nice. He no longer cared about anything, even as he was yelled at by the principal, being told that he'd been suspended for a week, brought all of his belonging (including the ring), and then escorted out of the school…he didn't care. The youngest felt nice, and as he walked to the bus stop he felt like he was floating on air. Maybe he should've done something like that sooner…

He hardly remembered the bus ride, hardly remembered walking into the apartment and going up to Lyle's door. Setsuna did, however, remember the older male grabbing his hands and asking what had happened. It was strange how he hadn't even noticed the blood on his fists, or for that matter the beating pain that emitted from them. He was so adrenalin high that he hadn't noticed anything about his own body, and maybe that was for the best. The youngest told the other male that he'd gotten into a fight, adding that everything would be 'alright' as he leaned against him. Everything would be alright…even as he spent the follow day not really doing much, he knew it would be. So later on that night he told both Lockon and Lyle about the things he'd been keeping inside for far too long, just as promised.

Setsuna felt no regret for what he had done, but the fact that he had managed to attack another human being so furiously laid heavily on him. However…that fact was quickly overshadowed by another fact…The person he had beaten didn't deserve any kind of sympathy, and if the person in question had actually been seen as a human being in Setsuna's eyes he would've obviously considered thinking about his actions a little more. But Michael Trinity was not human…he held no pity in his eyes whatsoever, so why should the youngest pity him? Of course there was that old saying 'two wrongs don't make a right', but his wrong doing in no way compared with what the male Trinity had done to him. So the youngest was satisfied with what he had done…was it worth it end the end?

Hell yes it was…Apparently he had scared the other students so badly they none of them wanted to do anything to him, fearing the repercussions. This made the days leading up to graduation _so_ much easier…And when that day finally did come, an enormous weight was lifted off of his shoulders. As he walked into the auditorium with the rest of the third years, all of which were wearing a specials uniforms that were purchased just for that day, the stress of everything began to melt away. The day he'd been waiting for had _finally_ come…though to be frank, he had to do a bit more waiting until he actually was allowed to leave the whole high school establishment behind. The ceremony was long, and between the rising and bowing, announcements and the principal speaking Setsuna thought it was never going to end.

And then there was the diploma distribution…that was _so_ embarrassing. Everything was pretty well organized; they did everything according to class and last name, and since Setsuna was in class 3-A he didn't have to wait too long for his diploma. He stood in line with his fellow classmates, waiting as patiently as he could for something he'd been dying to get. Anxiety was an understatement! The younger male was fidgeting so badly, but of course he had to try his best to control himself. When his name was called his body tensed up, it walking forward automatic to the stage like so many others before him. God it was just like a movie…slowly he walked up until he was standing in front of the principal, in front of everyone. He was presented with his diploma, and like those prior to him took it with both hand and bowed deeply. Just as the principal had relinquished the piece of paper to him, the youngest heard something…

Near the back of the auditorium he heard his mother's very familiar voice yell 'that's my son!', followed by his fathers voice telling her to 'wait after the ceremony'. He stood there for a good ten seconds, so completely unaware of what needed to happen next. After coming to his sense, he quickly left the stage, diploma in hand and a faint blush on his cheeks (he was holding back the rest of it). Luckily after all the classes had received their diplomas the principal then lunched into another speech, the event with his mother practically forgotten…except by him.

After everything was said and done, the third year students stood and bowed, exiting the auditorium once done. There was just one more thing, one last little thing he had to do before he was free to leave the school forever. All of the third year students returned to their classes, and once there they would be given one last lecture of 'good luck' by their teachers. For the most part Setsuna blocked most of what his teacher was saying, and right as he bolted out of the door, Tieria following behind him, his destination was not going to the main gates. Instead he took a detour to the first year hallway, quickly finding Christina and Feldt's classroom and peeking in. Of course it was in disorder, the teacher nowhere in sight as they were probably being thanked somewhere in the school by a group of third years.

He didn't need to do anything to catch their attention, since as soon as they peeked through the door the two immediately rushed over. Setsuna barely had time to brace himself when the shorter of the females practically knocked him over, arms wrapping around his neck as she hugged him. It was a little surprising seeing as how Feldt was such a reserved person, but given the circumstances her actions were indeed justifiable. He could tell the two girls were trying their best not to cry, and this did cause a small pain to form in his chest. If there was only one thing he regretted it would be leaving behind his underclassmen, and it was probably the only thing he'd miss about the building. But there would come a time where the too would be free from high school, and if he waited that time would come.

Before saying their goodbyes, he along with the second youngest told the two that they could come over whenever they wanted during the summer, causing the two to completely break down. It didn't seem right to just leave them like that…So he tried his best to calm them down, telling them that he was still going to be apart of their lives even if he did leave the school. That did manage to do something, but it didn't stop them from shedding a few more tears. He really couldn't blame the two for feeling the way they did, seeing as how it was a rather emotional moment for them. It was a fact that there wasn't much he could do to completely make them stop, so he excepted this fact and decided to move on…by thanking them.

Why shouldn't he? Both of the girls made his third year of high school much more bearable, seeing as how it gave him someone other then Tieria to talk to (not that he was complaining). Though if he had known that both of his female friends would jump him because of such a comment before hand, Setsuna would've kept his mouth shut. So the three of them were on the ground in the middle of the hallway, Setsuna not feeling any shame while Tieria was trying his best to not laugh at the sight before him…though he wasn't laughing for too much longer when he was pulled down into the pile of people.

Once everyone had regained their composure (which took about 10 minutes), the real goodbyes where said and both he and the second youngest left. Of course he didn't want to, but he still needed to see his parents as well as the rest of his friends. All of them were most likely waiting near the main gate, since that was where every parent along with their children met at the end of the graduation ceremony. Upon arrival it was _packed_, so much so that he had to hold onto Tieria so the two of them weren't separated. As they navigated through the sea of people, the younger male began to notice just how happy everyone was. The parents looked proud while the students looked relieved, and for some reason he couldn't but think that Tieria felt somewhat discouraged while being in such a place.

His parents had not attended the graduation ceremony…As low as that seemed, it shouldn't have surprised Setsuna in the slightest given the fact that the slightly older male's parents weren't an active part of his life. He couldn't really understand what that could've felt like, to have parents that in no way acted like it. At first the youngest thought that his friend didn't have any sort of 'adult' to look up to, but as they finally neared the group they'd been looking for he was quickly proven wrong. The first person to run out and greet them was none other then the Haptism twins' mother, quickly hugging the second youngest tightly and telling him how proud she was. Now _that_ surprised Setsuna…He wasn't even aware that the two had any kind of relationship at all, but to see the other male feel the same way as so many others around them made the youngest smile a little.

About and hour into his congratulation, the youngest felt his left hand gentle by taken by another's. He didn't need to guess who had taken it…instead he allowed himself to be lead away from everyone, apparently going completely unnoticed by all. His nerves began to take over, his chest clinching slightly the further the two of them moved away from the school.

And that was exactly how he along with his husband ended up back at their apartment. He wanted to be in a familiar place…opposed to the love hotel Lockon had originally planned for them to go to. When the youngest first heard the word 'love hotel' come out of his husband's mouth he quickly turned and walked din the other direction, so ready to forget about the promise he made. Upon being pulled back and told that the other was 'joking', he still felt like walking away. But since he wasn't the only the only one to that would be deprived in the end, he decided it would be best if they just went home and took it from there. But _god_…it didn't help the awkwardness that obviously hung in the air at all. Just sitting next to him on their futon was nerve racking, and Setsuna could not for the life of him looking up at the older male.

"So…"

Lockon finally spoke…

"Should we, you know, undress?"

That seemed pretty reasonable question…but that didn't mean the youngest was going to break his silence. He merely nodded, noticing that as he did so his hand clinched at the futon below him. It wasn't going to be easy, none of it was, but he needed to be willing to accept any and all the things that were going to happen to him. He was going to be touched by another, which went without question, but just _how_ he was going to be touched was still somewhat of a mystery to him. So he'd just have to leave that up to the older male, since the youngest was sure that those 'secret files' on his laptop had to be of some sort of sexual nature.

The younger male tensed up when he felt his husband slink his arms around his waist, pulling him against his body. Setsuna could hear the other male's heartbeat, and it was beating just as fast as his. However, when asked if his husband could 'undress him', there was no way in hell Lockon's heartbeat could compare to his. What kind of question was that? If that was supposed to turn him on, it was failing horribly! Not that he knew what actually _did_ turn him on or anything…It just seemed like a little…much, but if they were doing to anything clothes needed to be shed. So…he nodded. The youngest was then kissed, his body slowly being pushed down against the futon below the two of them in the process. Setsuna was tense and his husband must've notice because the next thing he knew his forehead was kissed.

"It's okay…" Lockon started, voice low and sincere, "If you want me to stop I'll stop…But if you want us to continue, I'll try my best to be gentle."

Stopping…the thought had occurred to him to do so, pushing the other male away and forgetting about everything. But…he wasn't the only person in the equation, and he couldn't help but be a little…_curious_ about what the other male looked like without any clothes. Yes…Setsuna F Seiei had finally become interested in the body of another. He didn't know why he hadn't in the past, never once looking at another person with inquisitive eyes once. Maybe it was because he already knew the basic differences between the male and female body, and that was probably enough for him. However…it wasn't until he made his promise to his husband that he began to…notice _things_. Just what were these things? How Lockon's body moved…how in certain situations it would tense or relax or jerk forward…he noticed all of it.

Unfortunately his curiosity had started to get the better him….he wanted to see all of the other male, and his want required that the other needed to, well, strip. His husband's clothes were a hindrance, but there was no way in hell he could've told him to just 'take it all off'…though of course the oldest would've probably loved nothing more then to do such an act. So when presented with the perfect situation to actually get what he wanted, wouldn't the most logical action to be to submit and continue on? But in such a situation 'logic' was quickly outdone by emotions. His emotions were telling him that he was scared, that his body would ache like never before and that there would be no pleasure in it for him. But…how would he know such a fact unless he'd done it before? He hadn't…so there was nothing backing up his claims, so…

"We can…keep going…"

He continued on. Setsuna was then kissed, and as he practically melted into it his worries and anxieties melted along with him. The youngest had every right to feel nervous, but he wanted to enjoy himself to some sort of extent so he pushed back as much fear as he could to a corner of his mind where it would stay until they were done. It was strange…he'd been kissed countless times in the past, but for some reason he couldn't help but feel a little lightheaded as the seconds passed. Upon feeling the older male's lips leave his own, he half expect that to be the end of it but as the other began to basically assault his jaw line he knew that it wasn't. As his husband nipped lightly at it he couldn't help but let out a few small moans, knowing that because the walls weren't all that thin that he needed to keep his voice down.

Looking to the side slightly he managed to catch the older male's lips with his own, his husband putting a little more force into his actions as a result. Setsuna was a little taken aback when the other began to bite down on his bottle lip, not that it hurt or anything it was just a shock. Hesitantly he slipped his arms around the older male, gripping his shirt as the ravaging of his mouth began. God it felt good…he never once thought the feeling of someone else's tongue could be pleasurable, finding the mere idea of having another human being's _anything_ in his mouth absolutely revolting. However…his mind was completely changed as the other male slipped his into his mouth, exploring it. Since he was so at a loss at what he should've been doing, Setsuna just laid there, moans and groans muffled by the older male.

It was all merely a distraction so Lockon could work on undressing him, and he was happy to forget all about his clothes as he felt himself fall into bliss. He could still hear it though, the rustling of his own garments as they were slowly being undone. It wasn't new to him though; the feeling of having his husband's hand feeling up on his chest, fingers dancing up and down from his chest to his stomach, since he had allowed such an action as a means to get 'ready' for him to be…._done_. It was more then a little nerve-wracking at first since it was so new to him, not to mention his husband in no way helped the situation with his rather enthusiastic touching. He was in no way shy when it came to touching him, so of course the end result was the older male getting hit and him running into the bathroom or closet (there was enough room for only him to fit inside since he was, well, small).

He had to tell him time after time to _**slow down**_, but that was then and this was now and the only thing he wanted to do was to be touched. How funny…he must've been so utterly drunk off of the ecstasy created from the situation because he would've never thought something like that in the past, playing it off as nothing more then his hormone messing with him. But his hormones _were_ messing with him, causing his body to arch and groans as his husband finally moved onto his neck. The youngest knew that he was sensitive there, but that sensitivity made him aware of what else was going on with his body. The older male's fingers were dancing across his bare stomach, blazer completely open and shirt hiked up. His fingers were hot as they made their way up to his chest, another low groan escaping his lips in the process.

His breath hitched a little as he felt his husband's lips against his chest, and with the nipping motion he was performing he knew exactly what the other was trying to do. Lockon was marking him…those nips were the very same ones he give him on his neck, and the youngest wasn't sure if the idea of having marks along his body was a good one. The only thing that concerned him was the fact that Lyle might see the bites later on when the three of them attended the bathhouse, the shock of seeing them would obviously cause him some kind of distress. As much as he wanted to think of a way to explain to the other about what had happened, his mind completely shut it out when he felt his husband give the skin around his naval a hard nip, causing him to buck a little and moan louder. So goddamn good…Setsuna was, for the most part, enjoying everything that was being done to him…until he heard the telltale sound that his zipper was being pulled down.

"W-Wait!" He yelled as he shoved the other away, removing himself from underneath him as he back up slightly. Dammit…his fears had managed to creep back up again, but it was his own fault for allowing them to. Lockon had _never_ touched him down there before, so of course his first reaction would be to stop him. When asked if he wanted to continued, Setsuna had to once again think about his answer thoroughly. His body already felt hot, and he knew that it had nothing to do with the heat outside. Because of this he knew they couldn't stop, and if they did that heat would torture him until it was extinguished.

Sighing slightly he apologized, saying that they could continue and that he wouldn't stop the older male again. That was quite the tall order, but to make it a little lighter on himself he added a request…He told his husband that in order for them to keep going he needed to take off all of his clothes, to which the other look at him blankly…and then agreed. God he must've been waiting for him to say something along those lines. He didn't waste any time as he quickly slipped off his shirt and his jeans, Setsuna having to tell him rather loudly to 'keep his boxers on'. So there he was…sitting there in (almost) all of his glory, half naked and looking as if he didn't care at all. This was the younger male's chance. Hesitantly he reached over, stopping ever now and then before he actually managed to touch the other male's chest.

Moving his hand down ever so slowly, Setsuna could feel the heat in his cheeks become greater; he'd always wanted to touch his husband, but could never summon up the courage to do so. But here he was, finger tips moving up and down Lockon's body, stopping once his hand reached the elastic band of the older male's boxer. He was about to say something, but when his body was pulled forward onto his husband's lap he was quickly silenced. An arm was snaked around his waist, pull him further down onto the other male's lap to the point where he noticed a rather large bulge coming from the older male's boxer. Lockon was…aroused? God now he felt horrible for postponing everything for so long…Enough was enough; either the youngest was going to commit to the act or completely forget about it…and since the other male was fully aroused there was no way in hell he could've stopped now.

"I'm sorry…for teasing you…" Setsuna said, feeling completely guilty for what he had done.

"It's alright, really. You're nervous." He said as he reached up, completely removing his blazer and discarding it to the floor once done. The youngest didn't stop him as he removed his undershirt, didn't stop him as he undid his belt along with the fly of his pants (though the sound of it coming down was _so_ painful to listen to). Then everything went silent…The only thing that could be heard throughout the small apartment was the low humming coming from the fan that blew in the background, along with the (surprisingly) calm breathing coming from the two of them. It was the obvious his husband was taking all of him in, since he too was doing the same.

Every curve, every muscle, all of it was etched into the younger male's mind where it would stay until the day he died. But oh no, he couldn't take it _all_ of it in, not at that moment since both he and his husband had once again connected. That feeling was coming back to him, the one that made him so lightheaded and…hot. Was it…arousal? And if so did that mean his husband felt the same way? He wanted to know but his mind was becoming hazy, and he didn't mind the feeling at all. One of the older male's arms had released his waist, his fingers now running themselves through his hair. The other male's free hand was caressing his lower back, making him press up against him and give off a low sound. Setsuna didn't know he was that sensitive, but then again it was the first time his body had been touched in such a way so of course he wasn't sure just how he could react.

And then they were gone. The youngest felt it but didn't do a single thing about it…Slowly the oldest pulled his pants down, and he must've helped in some form since in their current position getting a pair of pants off was more than a hassle. Now the two of them were just as naked as the other, basking in the heated air created by their actions. Upon feeling his husband move onto his neck, Setsuna couldn't help but pant and whimper as the hand on his back moved _a little_ lower…onto one of his cheeks. He was going to kill him…well, that's what he would've done in the past, but now he held that part of himself back so he could actually take pleasure in what was happening to him. The hand moved around, lightly grabbing and clinching certain areas as he gripped Lockon's shoulders for support.

It was so strange…but at the same time he was enjoying it. He whimpered slightly as it moved onto his thigh after a while, the sensation obviously being missed. Setsuna was on the futon once more, the younger male's hands moving from the other's shoulders to his back, clinching it slightly. Even as he forced himself to stay calm while his body was being deflowered, he couldn't help but tense up the moment his boxer began to be pulled down. When his hand was placed on the elastic of the older male's own boxers, he couldn't help but deny what he wanted him to do. He couldn't mean…could he?

That was a rather bold move, though to be fair everything the other male was doing could be considered bold. But this was…no, he'd do it since he wasn't going to hesitate as much anymore. So he hooked his fingers around the other's boxers, miming his movements to a tee he pulled them down, eyes widening once they were completely off. Dear god…_it_ was bigger then his. Slightly ignoring the fact that he was practically gawking at his husband's stiff member (it was _huge_…), the two of them were now officially naked in front of one another, which was probably the biggest step they'd taken in their relationship yet.

"You look gorgeous." Lockon said as he stared down at him, eyes looking somewhat darker than they usually did.

"Don't say stupid stuff like that…" He muttered as he turned away, the full weight of their nakedness beginning to hit him all the while. When told that the older male's words were not 'stupid', he felt a hand start to caress his inner thigh, and the more it touched the hotter he felt. Biting down on his thumb, the younger male tried his best to keep his cries of passion to himself. The walls were thin, _the walls were thin_, _**dammit, why did those wall need to be so damn thin?**_ If it wasn't for that fact he would've loved nothing more then to cry out, because keeping it all in was _killing him_. Apparently Lockon didn't give a damn how thin the wall were, and he expressed this rather clearly upon removing the digit in question from his mouth.

"Just…let it out."

And _fuck_ did he…As soon as his husband's fingers ran themselves along his member, he jerked forward, hands gripping at the older male's back as he moaned. God he barely touched himself down there, and maybe that was the reason why he had such an aversion to anything sexual. His own body had been ignored, left completely unexplored by his hands to the point where it was crying out to him practically everyday for attention. He was just…too busy to do anything to it, and when he did it didn't feel like it was enough. Compared to what was being done to him it most definitely wasn't enough…His body wanted attention, and because it wasn't getting what it wanted it began to make his mind believe that 'sex was bad'…as a means to torture him.

But now it was getting what it had sought after, and it began to make him _crave _it. Every time his husband's hand moved Setsuna jerked every which way, panting as he did so. To have another person touch him in such a way was odd, but it wasn't painful…it was just different. Since he _really_ wanted to cover up his voice, the only thing he could do was pull the other down with one hand and kiss him. Lockon's tongue was once again shoved into his mouth, the youngest learning rather quickly that he should probably mimic his action…and he did. The two were fighting, or at least it felt like it, for who topped within their mouths and it seemed as if the older male was winning. Maybe Setsuna was allowing him to…

When it felt his husband's wonderful hand move faster, he could only part and groan as the friction between the two of them grew rougher. His nether regions were starting to burn, so much so that he began to beg the other for unknown reasons…not to mention he was using Lockon's real name. So this was one of the few times that he actually did so, though he wasn't sure why he hadn't made it a habit of calling the other male by his given name most of the time. All of the other times he had called him 'Neil' were when he needed him the most, when he couldn't get through something or when he was just plain scared. So maybe he only saw fit to call him by his real name when he needed him the most, when he needed Neil more than he needed Lockon.

The older male ran his thumb along the tip of his member, and the youngest _swore_ the sound he made was something of a 'squeak'. Out of all of the sounds at his disposal, moaning, panting, groaning, hell even a few curses, Setsuna just had to choose the one that made him sound like a goddamn _rodent_. God that almost completely took him out of the mood…Though what the older male did next caught him completely by surprise, taking him out of the mood as he pushed the other male back a little.

"W-What the hell are you doing?" Setsuna shrieked, trying the wiggle away from the finger that was probing his…_entrance_.

"If I don't do this it'll, you know, hurt."

"What'll hurt!"

"When I put my-"

Quickly covering his husband's mouth with both of his hands, the youngest understood the situation…even if he didn't want to. That's right…in order for them to truly have sex, something needed to be placed inside of him. Said thing just happened to be the hard member that the youngest had been staring at not too long ago…but instead of that he was getting _fingers_. Prep was necessary apparently…but with his fingers? That just seemed…a bit wrong, but then again who was he to talk since he was still a virgin. Well…he wouldn't be one for much longer…Removing his hands from the other's mouth, he told him to keep going, noticing as he did so that he was shaking slightly. Why shouldn't he be nervous? Something was about to be put inside of him! Wasn't that enough reason to promptly freak the fuck out?

But after taking a few hard breathes he managed to calm himself, wrapping his arms around Lockon's neck after doing so. And then he felt pain…Biting down on his bottom lip the youngest tried not to whimper out loud as the other's middle finger began to penetrate him, the older male inching it inside of him slowly as a means to not 'hurt' him. It's not like it helped though…it still hurt and because of this his body refused to keep still. It bucked and twitched as it tried to get use to the uncomfortable feeling of having something in it for the first time, the youngest still very much biting his bottom lip as all of this was going on.

It felt like his husband was trying to find something, but for what Setsuna didn't know. To broaden his search the other male inserted another finger, both of them moving in different directions, one moving in while the other moved out and vise versa. God his body was now completely pressed against the older male's, mouth open as he groaned loudly and nails digging into the other's back. The pain was slowly going away, and if it didn't he'd seriously need to question just why people repeatedly had sex. It was starting to feel…good, hell 'good' didn't even describe it. But it wasn't until he felt those fingers hit something deep inside of him, a sharp sensation shooting up his back in the process, a small gimps of what 'pleasure' truly was give to him in that instance.

He cried out, quickly asking (or rather shouting) what his husband had hit. He must've been out of it slightly because the only thing he heard was 'prostate' along with 'it's your sweet spots'. Was he serious? So…women weren't the only ones that had such a place, men too? As the other continued to hit said spot the youngest began to slide further down into endless bliss, the haziness around him becoming much worse. How could one spot give him that much pleasure? Setsuna didn't have the time to stay shocked as his lower half suddenly became cold. The fingers were gone. Wearily looking over at the older male, the only thing he could muster up was a groggy 'why'.

"Just try and relax a little." Was what Lockon whispered into his ear, and since the youngest was so out of it he did nothing but weakly nod. Why did he need to relax? What was he-

"FUCK!"

He was awake! He was awake! HE WAS _SO_ FUCKING AWAKE! Dammit, why did he have to learn the long, _**hard**_ truth like that! It wasn't the older male's fingers, it was his dick. His _dick_! _His husband's dick was inch its way inside of him! __**What the fuck?**_When asked if he was 'alright', he had the right mind to kick him where he knew it would hurt him the most. Did he _sound_ alright? From him yelling obscenities, the nails digging into his back, and the tears that were forming in the corners of his eyes didn't tip him off in the slight problem! He hated him! He_** hated**_ him! His body was in pain and he hated the bastard that was causing it!

"I-I'm really sorry if I'm hurting you, Setsuna…"

God_damn_it…that completely made everything he said previously obsolete…Maybe that momentary burst of evil had helped him, because he had not noticed that all of his husband's member had been shoved inside of him. Setsuna was still in pain, but upon looking up he found that Lockon didn't look as if he was in any better shape then him. The older male was panting, hard, and looked as if he was nearing the end of his stamina. They couldn't stop now…they were too far along and stopping meant pain for the both of them, so Setsuna held back any protest that his mind might've wanted to shout out. Quickly kissing him the youngest told him to continue, adding that he had adjusted enough to the point where he wasn't in pain (well…it wasn't a _complete _lie). So when he felt the other begin to move he tried not to cry out in pain, knowing for a fact that it would ruin the moment.

However, he did allow himself to groan as it was pulled out of him, his husband taking a few quick pants before pushing himself back in. This continued for a few more seconds, until his groans slowly began to become moans. It was then he told Lockon to speed up, his current pace no longer doing it for him. With a nod the oldest penetrated him harder and faster, causing the youngest to throw his head back against the futon below, the sensation much more then he expected. That lightheaded feeling had intensified, so much so that he could not think nor form a proper sentence to save his life. There was only thing he continued to repeated, one thing his mind could focus on in his intoxicated state.

Neil…Over and over again he cries out that name, the end result being his husband moving much faster then before. Everything was gone, the walls, the room, hell even the outside world…the only thing that existed in his mind was his own being and his husband. Nothing else mattered…nothing else _needed_ to matter. His body was on fire, burning with the lust and desire that had been building up over the past few months. The oldest must've felt the same way, his moans muffled slightly as he nipped and licked at his neck. He'd never heard his husband make those sounds before, and because it was so new it brought him further into his passion filled haze. It sounded…what was that word he never used but knew…oh yeah, sexy. His husband sounded sexy.

Setsuna felt the older male hit his prostate once again, but it in no way felt the same as when he touched it with his fingers. It was much more powerful, the sensation that ran up his back feeling as it he was being shocked. He completely clung to the other male as he moaned what was probably the loudest so far, both legs wrapping themselves around his husband's lower back as a means to bring him closer. God he had never wanted something so badly in his entire life, so he began to beg, _plead _for more. Of course Lockon agreed, thrusting his member into him much deeper than before. Their bodied were hot and sweaty, and as they rubbed up against one another Setsuna swore that a fire would start. This was sex…forget what they had done earlier, this, what they were doing at the moment, was _sex_.

For some strange reason his mind decided to make his vocabulary a little broader, and by little he meant adding 'I love you' to the end of what he was saying. The more he said it the more he began to believe it was his bodied way of making up to his husband. Setsuna didn't say those words often…and it wasn't because he didn't know what they meant. He did know…if he didn't he wouldn't have been with the older male as long as he had, but for some reason he just couldn't get those words to form in his mouth sometimes. Even when the situation was completely appropriate he couldn't bring himself to say anything, instead relaying on the other to say it in which he would simply give a small 'you too' as his answer. The youngest didn't want that…he didn't want to be the 'you too' guy because it made it seem like he didn't care. But he did care…he cared a whole lot more then his outward appearance made it seem like.

"I-I love you, N-Neil."

However…he was making up for lost times.

Something inside of him was telling him that he was about to reach his limit, because all of the heat in his body was started to be directed to on spot. The pit of his stomach…From there it slowly began to move lower, and it was then he noticed that his husband's pounding had become much more furious. His hot member stabbed him repeatedly, hitting his 'sweet spot' over and over again. So he was close too…As the heat inside of him finally reached its destination, his crotch, the youngest felt an explosion inside of him, one that shook his entire body to the core. He yelled as the heat inside of him erupted out, his husband crying out as well as he felt a different kind of heat enter him. It was his husband's seed…Upon feeling everything come to a halt, so did he; collapsing on the futon below him, the youngest white hot visions of pleasure slowly starter to go black. As much as he wanted to hold on to his consciousness, he was far too tired to try and hold onto it.

So he allowed himself to pass out. How long was he out? The youngest wasn't sure…but when he actually did come to he found himself clothed, wearing his husband's t-shirt along with his own clean pair of boxers. He still felt so out of it, and when he tried to move a sharp pain shot up his back. Was this the after effects of sex?

"Oh, you're up." Come a voice from besides him.

"Mmph…" Was all the youngest mutter as he lazily turned over on his side. His husband was sitting next to him shirtless, pants unbuttoned at the top so the youngest could clearly see that he wasn't wearing anything underneath him. As much of a 'turn on' (god he never thought he'd never say that phrase), he was far too tired to blush or make any kind of awkward movement.

"I'm sorry if I got a little rough."

"…Your back…how is it…?"

Upon getting a slightly confused look from the other followed by a little 'oh', he was told that he had really done quite the number on it. That was understandable…the way he was clinging to the other there was no telling just how much damage he could've done. After saying a small apology Setsuna tried once again to sit up, but once again failed miserably. As much as it hurt he couldn't help but feel at ease; both he and his husband had finally made it past another hurdle in their relationship, and this was _quite_ the big one. They had finally had sex…and the youngest had loved it. Did that mean there was a good chance of them doing it again? Of course…however; there was no way in hell they were going to do anything until the pain in his back went away.

That was another thing…They needed rules if they were going to continue having sex, and it was obvious that the first one was that they could not go 'another round' after just having finished…his back couldn't take that. Crawling over slightly, he placed his head in Lockon's lap, sighing a little as his hair began to be played with. Setsuna felt as if their bond had strengthened, and he now officially felt like he could really open up to the other. After all he had seen him naked and had screwed the living daylights out of him, so talking to him would've been pretty damn easy. Never in his life had he felt so stress free, like everything that had been bothering him had just melted away. God he hoped it stayed like this…

"I saw a pretty cute side of Setsuna today." His husband commented, leaning down so he could kiss him…obviously he was stopped.

"And I saw a pretty horny side of you today…" The youngest said as he covered the other male's mouth with both of his hand. He sat back and laughed a little, Setsuna letting a small smile escape him in the process. He really was an idiot…but he couldn't deny the fact that he was indeed in love with said idiot. Trying one more time he managed actually managed to get to his knees, realizing how familiar the situation seemed.

"Even after all of that your tongue is still sharp."

"Well then…do something about it."

His back didn't hurt as much as he thought it did anymore…

* * *

_**A/N:**_ Ah yes, finally done (that was probably the longest sex scene I've written…). And so ends this particular 'part', and oh god, I'm taking a little break…However, when I came back there's going to be another time skip! Four years! But it's also going to be the last part (hey, this story had a good run, right?).


	19. The Job Chapter

_**A/N:**_ I'm back! Ah, nice break is nice…

* * *

God fucking dammit, what the hell time was it? Feeling around he could in no way find his alarm clock, and if he actually bothered to get his ass up he would've probably found it across the room. He hated that thing…Every time he managed to get himself in a good sleep, like one he in no way wanted to be disturbed from, that goddamn clock would screech, remaining him that he needed to be up at ten because he needed to go work. Screw work…sleeping was much better. Groaning a little he throw his pillow over his head, trying his best to block out the light that was coming from his window. Screw the light…he had never been a morning person and would continue to not be one until he died. It didn't help at all that said day happened to be Friday, that god-awful 'it's the last day you have work! You can do it!' day, and he'd be so goddamn pathetic if he didn't get up and get ready since he had been doing so for the past four days.

But Hallelujah wanted to _sleep_ dammit…

Upon moving his body just a little, he found himself trapped, and he didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the person lying next to him was doing the trapping. Both of the other male's legs were intertwined with his right, and to further prevent any form of escape he had latched himself onto his arm, holding him tightly. Why in the hell did the second youngest have to sleep in such an odd position? Now he wasn't complaining since the other's crotch was placed quite nicely against his leg, it was just that it was too goddamn early in the morning and that meant everything was going to irritate him in some form. The thing he needed to focus on the most, it obviously not being how much he needed to take a cold shower, was how he would release himself from Tieria's vice grip without actually waking him.

The second oldest had only been successful in such an act only a few times, and he prayed that this would be one of those few times that his escape plan worked. Shifting his arm ever so slightly as a test he saw the other male stir but not wake, so he took the pillow that was currently balancing on his forehead and readied himself. He needed to be slow, but not slow enough to the point where the other male would wake up because he was taking too goddamn long. So he inched his arm slowly from out of the younger male's grip, replacing it with the pillow once done…and then he waited. It wouldn't do him any good if he started to work on his leg if the younger male woke up, so he waited as he finished getting comfortable again before he began to make his move. Removing a second pillow from behind his head he gently removed his leg and replaced it with the piece of fluff, quickly rolling of the bed one done.

And then he just stared at him…Would his little escape plan actually work? It damn well better…Propping his cheek up with his left hand, his elbow holding everything up, the 'elder' Haptism couldn't help but think about how much he wanted to ravage the other. How long had it been? Four days? That was too goddamn long…As much as he wanted to stay in the hotel room and just screw all day (he had _wanted_ to do that all week), he unfortunately had work to do. Fuck his job…After about a minute of staring he deemed it alright to leave, so he sluggishly got himself up and made his way over to the bathroom. His body was sore and he had a headache, and it was obvious that he had had a little too much to drink last night. Hallelujah could hold his alcohol pretty well, but even he had a limit just like everyone else. Of course he hadn't gotten piss drunk, oh no, he wasn't that kind of person…so the best term to describe his condition would've been 'tipsy'.

Because he wasn't sure just what time it was, his morning rituals needed to be somewhat quick. Obviously he wasn't going to just splash some water on himself, it just meant his twenty minute shower would be reduced ten. What? He liked to take his time…Not to mention the cold water felt damn good against his skin since he was sure that even hell couldn't rival the heat outside. It was only spring but for some reason his currently location made it seems as if it was already summer. The second oldest wasn't in control of just where he ended up, since it was his job to go wherever his boss sent him with out any complaints. Like hell he wasn't complaining…But that was the price he paid for being a photographer and working for a magazine company that had an editor-in-chief that was a bit of a…_ass_. He was sure the bastard didn't like him, but because he took such fucking _gorgeous_ pictures (his editors words not his) there wasn't a chance in hell Hallelujah wasn't getting fired any time soon.

Of course that didn't mean he was the best of the best since he in no way was booked for big jobs very often, but when he actually was given something 'big' he made such to go all out. The second youngest wasn't overly flashy with his pictures, he just made sure that they were something the public would be interested in. And that was exactly how he had ended up in Okinawa of all places; it wasn't all that great of a job since the only thing his asshole of a boss bothered to pay for was his flight ticket and hotel…but it wasn't like he couldn't charge anything to the company account. He'd probably just lie and say that whatever he bought was to 'make the shot better', but Hallelujah wasn't the kind of person to overindulge. He also wouldn't rack of a huge bill in spite of his boss, since that would've landed him in deep shit and in debt since the last thing he wanted was to end up on the streets or leaving with his mother…though the last option wasn't all that bad.

Okinawa was, for a lack of better words, a paradise, and the second oldest would've liked the place a little more if the temperature would've dropped a couple of degrees. He _hated_ the heat, and even with the AC going he still felt hot which was not helping his mood at all. But at least he was away from that goddamn office…Even if he was only called in when he was needed, working from home if he wasn't taking pictures, the place didn't sit well with him because of it's frantic nature. People had run into him countless time, papers flying everywhere as they quickly apologized and tried to retrieve them. So annoying…but he wasn't there at the moment so that did bring his pissy level down a few notches. The cold shower also helped it somewhat plummet; the moment the colder water hit his skin, he couldn't help but let out a groan of pleasure.

It felt so goddamn good…After a few seconds of basking in the coolness that was the jet stream of water, Hallelujah began to turn the heat on, because he didn't want to catch a cold from bathing in nothing but cold water. That was another thing he hated…being sick. Becoming sick was pain, and as much of a high tolerance for pain he had that kind of torture was too much. He couldn't recall each and every time he had come down with a cold because his senses were so damn hazy, but he did remember one week…and that week happened to shock the living hell out of him since it was the first time he actually (intentionally) tasted Tieria's softer side.

A week after New Years, which just happened to be the New Years everyone had gotten together for the first time after god knows how long when he was still eighteen. The unnecessary tension between his him, his brother and the second was the cause of the separation, and he did feel some regret for knowing that he was preventing everyone from being together. But what the hell could he do? No one in the house felt like talking to someone else, and it wasn't like he could actually bring himself to force anyone to do anything in his state. The 'elder' Haptism just wanted to be left alone, because he was sure his feelings wouldn't be returned…or for that matter that they needed to be. He was messing up a good thing between his brother and Tieria, and that guilt mixed with his own envy always got to him.

Hallelujah hated his emotions…even when told that the second youngest actually did like him he couldn't get past the slight envy he felt towards Allelujah. However…as much as he wanted the younger male all to himself, it was probably better to just suck up his feelings and just go with the flow. It was working out for the most part, though he would admit that sometimes he'd act a little bit too possessive whenever his brother was around. It was something he'd been working on, but it was truly horrible when he had come down with a cold. Just how he had caught it was beyond him, but he knew upon waking up that something was wrong. For starters he had a ragging headache, one that made moving a living hell and the sunlight coming through his window look as if it was ten times brighter then it actually was. Getting to his feet was out of the question, so he threw the blanket over his head and began cursing whatever had infected his body.

It wasn't fair! What the hell had he done to deserve such punishment? Hadn't he been good for like two weeks straight? Well…there was that whole incident at the shrine, but that didn't mean the repercussion should've been him getting sick! Maybe Lockon hitting him, sure, but not getting sick! Complaining wasn't going to help…but it was taking his mind off of the pain his body was going through, so he silently kept at it. It did help to some extent, but the pounding in his head did drown it out somewhat. God did it suck…and hell, he thought it was going to suck even more the moment he heard a knock at his door. It wasn't completely unexpected given that fact that he had been lying on his futon for about an hour, not to mention it was a _school day_.

The second oldest hated breaks because the adjustment from sitting on his ass and doing nothing to actually going back to school was hell; how the hell could anyone get use to such a change, let alone actually focusing on what was going on? In order for him to function properly in school after a break he needed to sleep through class for at least three day, because his mind needed to readjust to everything that was doing on around him. He couldn't very well just sit there and hope for a reprogramming, oh no, that didn't work because if he did his mind would block out everything, practically making him a empty shell whose consciousness was wavering between Dreamland and the real world. It was not a pretty sight…But what irritated him was that on the day that was supposed the be the last of his 'sleeping in class' just happened to be the one he became sick on!

He would probably never say it out loud but he actually did like college, and as much as he wanted to kill his teachers sometimes (but then again who didn't he want to kill sometimes?) he looked up to them for their educational advice. Even if he gave off the air of a delinquent, and he was somewhat of one in high school, he was pretty well behaved once on campus. The second oldest was sure his maturity level had something to do with it, but it hadn't gone up all that much so he wasn't really sure why he became such a 'good boy' upon entering college. It was a mystery he didn't feel like investigating, so he just let it go without a second thought.

After failing to shout a loud 'go away', it sounding far too raspy to be considered anything but threatening, he heard the telltale sound that his door had been opened. He felt like yelling again, but after the first attempt he knew it would only end in disaster. So he opted to scoot to the side a little, still completely covered by his blanket. He only made it about a few inches before he felt a hand on his back, and in that moment he knew it wasn't his brother. Allelujah had learned very early on that touching him when his body was completely covered was a big no-no, only because there was no telling just what mood he'd be in. The 'elder' Haptism remembered quite clearing biting the other male's arm the first time he'd attempted to pull his precious blanket off of him, and even though it was merely a mistake his brother never tried such a stunt again.

Making a small hole through the side he noticed Tieria kneeling in front of him, looking completely in a hurry which was not a good sign. He was probably going to yell at him for being a lazy bastard, or he'd rip the blanket off of him and completely expose his weakened state. God the latter option was probably the worst, because the last thing he wanted to show the second youngest his pathetic side. Hallelujah didn't consider himself to be weak because he _knew _he wasn't a weak, helpless or feeble person. He tried his best to never put his self in a position where he would break down in front of someone, which was why whenever it seemed like he couldn't argue or yell his way out of something he just leaved. The last thing he wanted to do was get overemotional and completely break down in front of someone, especially if that someone was the second youngest.

Scooting over to the side a few more inches he told the second youngest to get out, an unfortunate cough coming out of his mouth in the process. And then…he heard him leave. That couldn't have been it…it didn't seem right for the other to leave without saying a single word. So…did that mean he'd be coming up? Regrettably it did…Just was he was about to stick his head out from under his blanket, the door opened for a second time. Curling himself back up he heard the slightly younger male ask him to come out, to which he gave him a small 'fuck off' before coughing again. Just because he had admitted to liking him didn't mean he'd treat him too differently than he already had in the past, because that would've been extremely fake. Being all lovey-dovey was not in his nature, and if he ever started acting in such a way people would probably run in fear for their lives.

When asked again to remove himself, he didn't have time to add another 'fuck off' because his blanket was forcibly pulled off of him before he could even get a single word out. Goddamn him! Tieria didn't necessarily look pissed off, it was more that something was on his mind than him being just plain pissy. His arms were crossed though, meaning that the 'elder' Haptism needed to go into bitch mode before something came out of the other's mouth. Though that must've been the other's plan, since the moment he opened his mouth something was inserted into it. Get your minds out of the goddamn gutter, it was a thermometer! He nearly spat it out, but when he noticed the younger male wasn't paying him any mind, instead of all his attention focusing on the device in his mouth, he decided against it. Besides he'd probably just jam it back in his mouth anyways…or somewhere else.

It didn't take long for the thing to deep, but before he even had a chance to touch it the other male quickly took it out of his mouth, announcing that it read '37.8 degrees Celsius'. Damn…he had a fever…just great. Cursing under his breath he watched as the other left for a second time, knowing that there was no longer any point in him hiding away from the world. There was talking on the other side of the door, and the more he tried the ignore it the more he wanted to know what the hell was being said. It was pretty obvious that the conversation was about him, and as he pressed his ear against the door he could hear the concern in Tieria's voice. What? If they were talking about him he had a right to know what they were saying! The wood of the door was a bit too thick for him to hear what was actually being said, but he could tell the other people the second youngest was speaking to was not Allelujah.

When the door was opened again, it promptly hitting him in the face in the process, he was told that the second youngest would be staying with him…but only for two days. That was surprising…considering the fact it meant the other male would be completely messing up his perfect attendance. Why would he do that _just_ for him? Granted the notes he would miss could easily be obtained from Setsuna, but it would've been much easier if he just left the house and him. However…he chose to stay. 'How annoying' was the first thing he thought of, though he couldn't do much else since he had over exuded a bit too much of his self, making his groan slightly and crawl back into bed. How pitiful…he had officially become too tired to complain anymore, and the pain that was starting to form in his throat was not helping. Being sick SUCKED.

Just as he was about to pass out he felt his head hit something soft, and that softness was completely unfamiliar to him so he just shrugged it off. He wasn't sure how long he had been knocked out for, but upon waking up he found himself in a pretty awkward position. He was holding onto the younger male's waist, head in his stomach with the other male's arms lazily lying against his upper back. Luckily Tieria was asleep, because that would save him time to explain why there was a 'WHAT THE FUCK?' look on his face. That's right…he liked him…but that didn't mean he couldn't freak out every now and thing since he was in no way use to being treated in such a way. This was his brother's thing, not his…but maybe he just needed to adapt. After all the second youngest had never _intentionally_ treated him like his brother (so times where was pretending to be Allelujah didn't count). It was just a little odd…of course he wasn't complaining or anything.

Having another body _in his bed_ was a strangely good feeling, one he wanted to relish in as much as possible. If he wasn't in such a weakened state his mind would've been running rampant with all the dirty things that could've been done in that futon, because he had NEVER in his life thought the two of them would be in such a position. In his dreams, sure, but never in real world since it was pretty obvious that he was the undesirable twin. But thing had changed, and as he buried his face in the other's stomach he could easily say that he was…_happy_.

Upon feeling the other male move, he looked up, finding him just breaking away from his dreams. The second oldest didn't feel like saying anything, because his throat felt like an inferno had been lit inside of it. He must've been coughing up a storm…Tieria didn't sit up, he only held him tighter as he asked if he was 'finally awake'. Finally? What the hell did that mean? But before he could muster up enough energy to give of some kind of look, he was told that he had been up and down for most the day. What was he talking about? The 'elder' Haptism was pretty damn sure that was the first time he'd actually been awake, though he did remember having some pretty vivid dreams…to which the slightly older male let off a 'no goddamn way…' in his head. So all of the shit that he thought happened in his head was real? Goddammit…that _was_ not good…

In his half-cocked state he had managed to make himself look like a complete idiot; he had been clingy, refusing to let go of the slightly younger male as he tried to tend to his needs. He remembered being downstairs at some point, watching as his mother helped Tieria figure out just what medicine he needed to shove down his throat at what time. While all of this was happening, his enthusiasm for having to take that vile blue shit (the one never seemed to run out) not once but twice never once peeking, he clung to the younger male's waist as if he was his lifeline. After then everything went black, and the next thing he remembered he was lifting up the other male's shirt while he complained about being 'too cold'. Now of course he didn't do anything, though it didn't make the situation any less fucked up, he merely lied against his bare chest as he tried to cool himself off.

Seeing as how he hadn't woken up in such a position, it was pretty clear that somewhere between him being completely knocked out and actually waking up he had changed their position. God why…WHY! Why did he have to act like such a dumbass around him? He felt like crawling into a deep hole and dying from shame…a feeling that felt so new to him. In the past shame was never a word he associated with himself, acting out in a way that suited him without actually thinking about what other people would say was the way things had always been. But…for some reason he couldn't help but feel a little ashamed of himself, and he was sure it had something to do with the feelings he no longer needed to hide. Damn it all the hell…To make matter worse he couldn't help but feel his cheeks heat up, to which he went into complete denial about and thought it nothing more then his fever peeking once again.

Instead of being hit like he originally thought (he did kinda deserve it), a hand was gently placed in his head, the younger male saying that he was 'happy' to finally see him awake. There was that word again…happy…he knew what the word meant, knew that he had used it quite a few times in his life…but for some reason felt odd when said word was used around Tieria. He never felt happy around the other in the past, he was always content, pissed off, or annoyed…never happy. It was somewhat frightening to know that his feelings were starting to change, and even more so that the slightly younger male was willingly treating him kindly. It was…all just so strange. However, he kept his mouth shut…Once the two days were finally over, the slightly younger male needed to return to school…meaning he would have to wait god knows how long for him to come back.

So what did he do? Wait by the window for his return…and without a doubt he felt like a goddamn dog waiting for his master. Hallelujah Haptism, the notorious wild dog of the small village, had been tamed…and a collar binding him to the one who had unintentionally broken him had been placed around his neck without him even realizing it. But did that mean he had lost the ability to bark? Of course not…Just because he had an owner did not mean he wouldn't bite the hand that threatened him. Tame didn't necessarily mean 'obedient'. Maybe it wasn't so bad being held down by another, though the whole sitting by the window thing was just pathetic as hell…he needed to stop that _quickly_.

But just before he did so he caught a glimpse of his brother and the younger male locking lips on the fourth day he was sick, and even though it was extremely brief he couldn't help but feel his stomach drop. The 'elder' Haptism still couldn't get past the irritation he felt when seeing someone else touch the other male, even if that someone just happened to his own brother. Maybe his possessiveness wasn't entirely that…maybe it was partially protectiveness he felt just based on the situation in which Tieria decided to confess. It was far from great…To see the slightly younger male in such a state made him want to kill the bastard who had touched him, but unfortunately said bastard live in a completely different world…meaning that if harm came to him the repercussions would be beyond his imagination. It was so goddamn unfair that someone like that was allowed to live…

But it was his own _brother_…he wouldn't harm the younger male, he knew this, so for him to feel any kind of spite towards him was mere selfishness. So he tried to get past his feelings and accept the fact that the slightly younger male had split his feelings between two people, and he really should've been grateful that the second person just happened to be him. Now that didn't sound selfish…

Shaking his head slightly, he cursed, not wanting the first thing he though about that early in the morning to be something horrible. Turning off the water he stepped out of the, he grabbed a towel and began to dry himself off. Now because he was still the kind of person who liked to get reactions out of others, he couldn't pass up the opportunity to shock the living hell out of the younger male. He hadn't had much fun since coming to Okinawa, so he thought it was only best that he made up his own entertainment. So as he wrapped the towel he was just using around his waist, a small smirk forming on his lips, he left the bathroom with the full knowledge of what kind of reaction he'd get out of the other male. Because of the way Tieria slept, any kind of loud noise would startle him, leading him to either scream his head off or freak out and drop out of the bed.

A combination of both would've been so goddamn _wonderful_…

As he slipped into the bed, him positioned himself by the window side of the bed so he wouldn't become a victim of whatever Tieria was going to do, he readied himself. Leaning over him he got his face an inch away from the others, his wet hair touching it such a way that should've woken him up right there on the spot. It was almost a shame that he wanted to wake him, seeing as he looked so peaceful (and gorgeous) while asleep. But oh well! There would be other times when he could admire him while sleeping, but that wasn't going to be one of those times. Taking a deep breath he let it out, yelling the first thing that came to mind.

"WAKE THE HELL UP, YA LAZY BUM!"

Tieria's reaction? _Priceless_. Hallelujah had to quickly move his head in order to avoid the other male's flailing, it leading to him falling out of the bed and the older of the two laughing his ass off.

"Bastard!" The slightly younger male yelled as he rubbed the side of his head, sounding both stunned and irritated as he spoke.

"Well, what else was I supposed to do?"

"Wake me up like a normal person!"

That could've been a completely acceptable answer, but he had neglected to remember who he was talking to. Leaning back on the bed, the 'elder' Haptism began to feel rather smug with himself…which obviously didn't sit well with the other male because the next thing he knew he was on his back, a pillow roughly hitting his head. Cheap ass hotel pillows…they were hard as hell…After shouting 'OW, OW, GODDAMMIT, OW!' a few times, he was finally freed from the wrath that was an angry Tieria. Sitting next to him, the other male took a few minutes to actually realize that he was partially naked, to which he just turned his head away and told him to 'put some clothes on'. He would…when he was good and goddamn ready to.

"You're not moe at all…" The older male said as he laid back, hands behind his head.

"Maybe I'm just not the type of moe you like."

"Moe or not, you're definitely a Tsundere…"

No argument was needed there…It was amazing what one could learn from reading one of their boyfriend's light novels, and it was pretty damn sad when one of the character archetypes pretty much summed up said boyfriend to a _tee_. _'Characters that are described as 'hot and cold', going from easily irritated or hostile to lovestruck'_. He never remembered laughing so hard in his entire life upon finding out that there was an actual name for the way the slightly younger male behaved, finding it quite amusing since it was apparently a sought after type of character. People truly were crazy…He knew for a fact that dating one was a hassle, so of course he couldn't see why anyone would willingly want to get their ass handed to them (both verbally and physically) by their lover. Maybe they were just masochists looking to get off on some pain…

Hallelujah didn't understand and really didn't wish to…Sitting up he decided it was time to get ready, remembering that he had work to do and because he didn't know what time it was he needed to rush slightly. So he ripped off his towel and proceeded over to his luggage over in the corner, all the while the slightly younger male was yelling at him for having 'no shame'. Oh course he didn't, at least when it came to nudity. Of course his common sense told him not to go streaking in public, but when it came to the affairs that took place behind closed doors he really didn't care. It was his body, so if he wanted to show it off he did. Was that wrong?

"How long are you going to be out?" He heard the other male ask from the bed.

"A few hours, so if you wanna come get your ass in gear and gets ready." The 'elder' Haptism said as he slipped on his boxer. There was a noise behind him, and it didn't need to look back to know that Tieria had heard him loud and clear.

The slightly younger male had learned early on that when he said 'get your ass in gear' whenever they were on business trips such as this, he _meant_ it. As much as his job annoyed him, if he didn't do it or missed a deadline, he wouldn't be paid…and that was a big no-no. Lover or not, he would and had left him behind in order to get things done. He wasn't being mean or tying to teach him a lesson or anything like that, it was really all just a matter of him getting the job done so he could have some free time. That wasn't to say that being quick about his job meant shoddy work, something he never once submitted or even tried to. It would've completely tarnished his image if he did something like that…

Upon putting his shirt on he just happened to catch his reflection in the mirror on the wall, finding that he needed to fix his hair before walking out of the door. He no longer felt the need to keep his hair in the same style he had when younger, instead opting to push most of his hair out of his face and show both of his eyes. Strangely (or maybe not so strangely) his brother had done the same, though it wasn't like it mattered since their looks were not what defined them. He was still Hallelujah and Allelujah was still Allelujah. The slightly younger male must've liked it since he never once complained about it, and since he had taken it upon himself to play with their hair whenever he got the chance further fueled his thinking.

It didn't take too long for him to get completely dressed, since wearing a lot of clothes meant suffering from heat stroke. God he hated Okinawa…granted it was a beautiful place and their food was delicious as hell…but it was just too damn hot for his liking. Sitting on the bed he began to wait for the younger male to emerge from the bathroom, and if he didn't in the next three minutes he'd leave without out. Even though it was easier to concentrate he hated going out alone if he had brought someone along with him, because talking to himself just looked and felt strange. No…that wasn't it…he liked having someone with him because…fuck it, he was lonely. Love had turned him into a lonely dog goddammit! How sad was that? He couldn't go anywhere without someone tagging along, and he _liked it_! Groaning a little, he lied back and tried not to think about how much he had changed over the past few years

"Okay, we can leave." He heard the second youngest say as he opened the door. Finally! Getting up he didn't pay the other much mind as he retrieved his camera bag, just wanting to get the day over with so he could get back to bed.

Half way out the door he felt the slightly younger male wrap his arms around his, the action causing him to make a full stop. He did that from time to time whenever they'd go out, and it wasn't like he could really get upset with him…The older male hadn't really paid that much attention to him since they arrived, but it wasn't like he had done so intentionally. He was sure the second youngest wanted this to be a vacation, wanted the two of them to have some kind of fun together. Goddammit…Sighing a little he knew that since it was their last day not spending some portion of said day with his lover would've been criminal, so he asked Tieria if he wanted to 'go out' once everything had been taken care of. He smiled a little as one of his arms slid down and intertwined their fingers, the younger male holding it tightly.

"That'd be great."

* * *

"Don't move."

"But-"

"If you don't stop moving I'll handcuff you to the headboard…"

That threat never got old, and it further proved just how much the youngest had changed. It did take some getting use to in the past, but all of that quickly left Lyle's mind as the pain from lying in one spot for about two hours began to hit him. He should've been use to it by now, having to pose for the other and not moving an inch, but his body refused to listen to him which lead to the occasional fidget or twitch. Needless to say Setsuna wasn't happy. He couldn't blame him though…drawing meant a lot to him, and the currently one he was working just happened to mean a little more since he needed to turn it in the next day as a project. It'd be pretty damn crappy if he was the reason for the youngest failing a class.

But hell it was nice to actually see him openly passionate about something. Ever since he started attending an art college he had becoming much more willing to share his work with others (since he needed to), which made looking over his shoulder much easier. However, his openness also had to do with the fact that he was, well…sexual active. One really couldn't hide much during sex, the act itself causing both parties to show all of themselves to the other. Having full knowledge of this, the younger male just took it upon himself to tell him every and anything that was on his mind since, well, after being screwed there wasn't really much to hide. But it was quite the shock upon leaning that the other wasn't a virgin for the first time…

It was a month after the younger male's graduation, and he knew that there was something different going on between his brother and Setsuna…he just didn't know what. Their interactions seemed to have changed, the two acting much touchier than they use to be. Whenever he'd enter their room without knocking first they would always look so flustered, like they had almost been caught doing something he wasn't meant to see. Of course it wasn't until he learned much later on that that was exactly the case…but he was getting ahead of himself.

Lockon had left the apartment to go on an ice run, and because of the heat outside there was no telling just how long he'd be gone. If the convenient store near the complex didn't have any he would've had to travel to the northern town to find some…and if none of the stores there had any he'd have to go ALL the way into the _city_ just for ice. That would be quite the journey and he genuinely felt bad for him, but it wasn't like he had much say in it since the youngest basically kicked him out. The two of them had been acting pretty off since last night; he'd spent the night over at their place since, well, it was a lot cooler, though he almost left due to the atmosphere. It was tense as hell…Setsuna refused to look at either of them, only shooting his brother a look from time to time which told him that the problem lied with him. But on the other end of the spectrum he had Lockon, who refused to even acknowledge his existence…

Truthfully it didn't seem like he was doing it intentionally, the look on his face indication that he was more lost in thought than anything else. What the hell was going on? Better yet…why the hell was he being kept out of it? If it was something important he had a right to know about it! But…as always he was kept out of the loop for unknown reasons. He wasn't given an ounce of information, and what little he obtained himself was proven useless since he was half conscious during the time. Because of this when the three of them were sharing two out of the three futons, he only managed to make out the words 'tell him' and 'tomorrow'. That was pretty damn vague…so as he sat next to the younger the next day he couldn't help but feel slightly tense. There was no telling just what the other male would say to him, and that thought alone put him on edge. Five minute into their silence the younger male began to speak, all the while a knot began to form in his stomach.

Setsuna didn't look trouble, which was probably a good thing…but than again he was the kind of person who didn't show much when it come to something serious. As he tried to control the impending doom feeling he had, he listened to what the other had to say, feeling slightly taken aback when asked if he 'wanted their relationship to change'. What kind of question was that? It just didn't seem like…something he'd ask. But he thought about it anyway, wondering just where the conversation was going. Well…as long as the change was a positive one, he didn't really mind it changing at all. Sometimes a little change was good for a relationship, and as the younger male slid onto his lap, arms wrapping themselves around his neck, Lyle knew he had said the right thing. His lips were so close to his, but he was completely taken out of the mood when he heard the line 'your brother and I slept together'.

_**WHAT THE FUCK**_…that was the first thing that popped into his mind, followed by the sheer horror of knowing that he was already so far behind his brother when it came to intimacy. Why…why was he always behind? Why was he never the _first_ person to receive something? It just wasn't fair…Looking away he couldn't help but feel ashamed, however; it was not directed at Setsuna, but at himself, because he for what seemed like the hundredth did not act on his instincts and do what he truly wanted to. The younger male's virginity was gone, and even though that didn't mean he saw the other as dirty, he still would've liked it a little more if he was the first one to have taken it. But he had been too slow…

For some strange reason the older male hadn't noticed that he was not longer sitting upright, only realizing that he was on the floor when his eyes met the younger male's. They looked different, the color slightly darker than what he usually thought them to be. Was there a reason behind it? Of course there was…and he found out just what that reason when has was asked if he 'wanted his turn'. It was lust clouding his eyes…and he was completely unsure as to what he should've been doing. It was pretty damn obvious the other wanted to have sex, but he really wanted to question if it was out of love or obligation. He'd already had 'done the deed' with his brother, so he must've felt bad about leaving him out so he decided to give him a pity fuck. Was that all he was…? An after thought? That hurt…Looking the other dead in the eye he asked if he really loved him, his serious manor obviously reaching the other.

The youngest didn't look surprised, instead looking as if he had expected him to say something along those lines. There was no hesitation to his response, however; it wasn't the fact that he had said yes that got to him…it was the smile that accompanied said response. Even if it was small and almost unnoticeable, it was still very much there. It wasn't a lie…Setsuna wasn't the type of person who'd lie to him and then smile. 'You were never an after thought' was what he said next, and it was enough to make whatever was holding him back let go. So to two of them did it…well, they tried too at least. Through all the touching, kissing, licking and nipping he must have gotten himself a little too excited, because the moment he tried to enter the other he came _way _too early.

Yes…Lyle had _prematurely ejaculated_. It was so goddamn embarrassing, so much so that he felt like crying (seriously). He apologized over and over again to the younger male, adding that he had completely messed everything up. There was no greater shame than coming far too early, and he never once thought that something like that could happen to him. How low could he get? It was _their_ first time together, and he just had to go and blow it! No pun intended…But he was quickly forgiven, the youngest telling him that he didn't mind waiting. The two of them then spent the next ten minute waiting, the youngest sitting on his lap and basically assaulting his neck. He was just trying to help, and he was doing a damn good job of it since it was really speeding things up. Once everything was in 'working order' again the two of them didn't leave their position, only adjusting it slightly to make penetration a little easier.

And thankfully the oldest managed to hold himself back that time around…god was it so rewarding. Pounding into him harder and harder as time when on only made the younger male beg for more, the other using a voice he other thought fathomable in his dreams. But what truly sent him over the edge the way that voice of his was saying his name…it was so goddamn alluring to the point where he came hard. It was their first sexual encounter and he could easily say that he enjoyed it…though the whole feeling completely drained after the fact didn't sit well with him. He wanted to hold the youngest, but as he drifted into unconsciousness he couldn't do such an act. It was a bit sad on his part, but upon waking up he noticed that he hadn't been left alone. Setsuna was still with him, asleep against his chest, and looking so completely at ease.

Was this the kind of scene Lockon woke up to after they had sex?

From that point their relationship truly did change; he was no longer kept out of the loop, the youngest confiding in him the same way he did his brother. When it came to their sex life he was slightly surprised at the somewhat aggressive approach the other male took. When he wanted it, he _really_ wanted it, and it was only a month later that he learned a new term from his brother. Topping from the bottom. That basically meant that the youngest was the one in charge, telling him what to do while being 'done'. He was the boss. The strange thing was that he didn't show that kind of behavior when he was with his brother, this fact told him by Lockon himself (since, you know, it became pretty normal to talk about that sort of stuff after a while). Well…it wasn't like he was complaining or anything, since he had no idea what he was _really_ doing.

But as time went on he wanted to be the dominate one…this lead to a _very_ interesting sex life. The two of them would constantly fight over who would be labeled the 'dominate' partner while in bed, and even though it was in a rather playful manor he somehow always ended up losing. Well…he didn't _always_ lose; there were times when he'd actually get the youngest pinned down, hands above his head and his body looking so completely helpless. Victory was sweet…even if it only lasted during foreplay.

"Are you almost done?" Lyle asked, arms behind his head as he lied in bed. An unlit cigarette hung from his mouth which he knew irritated the younger male, but it was the only condition he gave if the other wanted to sketch him.

He'd only been smoking for three years and no one seemed to mind, though of course he was instructed to never do so in the apartment even though he had his own room. Their current living conditions were much better than the one they had when Setsuna was still in high school, mainly because they had _space_. Two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, and bathroom were all including in their new apartment. It also had a pretty nice view of the city, and he sometimes liked to sit on the balcony and just watch everything, the youngest joining him from time to time. They lived in the Naniwa ward of Osaka City, meaning there was always something to see. At first he along with Lockon were a little worried about moving since Setsuna still had a 'thing' about being in big crowed, but surprisingly he took to it rather well…even if it did take some time.

He would come home from school looking so shaken, not because of whatever happened on campus but because of the train ride back. It was always crowed in the afternoons because of all the people trying to get home, so of course there would be countless bodies bumping and grinding into him. Luckily he had grown enough to the point where he could reach the pole that hung from the ceiling, though of course that didn't mean the bumping went down at all. His height wasn't the only thing that had changed over the years, it being one of the more minor difference in the younger male's appearance (though of course it was a major one for the other male). For one his face had become a little longer, it taking on a much more mature look than it did in his high school days. The length of his hair had also change, but you really needed to know him to notice such a change.

Everything made him look…older, and thus more desirable.

"In a minute…" Setsuna said, eyes going between his pad and the body on the bed.

"You said that an hour ago-"

"And I'll keep saying it if you keep asking if I'm done…"

That was basically his way of saying 'shut up'. Really the older male should've been sleeping since he had to get up in the middle of the night to go to work, a job that paid well only because of his looks. Lyle was a waiter…and even if that sounded as if it didn't require such things as looks or charm it strangely did. It all happened a year ago…A week before their actual move to Naniwa, he needed to find a job there to help pay for rent. Lockon was already set since he had been accepted for a teaching position at a local kindergarten, which came as a huge shock to everyone. Now he wasn't trying to say that his brother was horrible with kids, it was just surprising that he would want to make a profession out of it (hell he wasn't even aware that he'd gotten a degree in such a field). But as long as it paid well and he actually liked his job there really wasn't a problem.

He was just walking along the street, trying his best to find a job that was either close to the apartment or close to the train station. Now he wouldn't say he was being picky with his choices…he just wanted to make sure he chose the perfect job; pay, enjoyment, work hours, and distance were the important aspects of a job to him (in that exact order), so of course he needed to be a little choosy when it came to picking the right one. But unfortunately by the afternoon he hadn't found anything that suited his tastes…The older male couldn't very well go back without at least finding something! There was no way in hell he was going to be the disappointment! So with his determination high he continue forward, only stopping upon realizing that he hadn't eaten anything since that morning. If Lyle wanted to keep going some kind of nourishment was necessary, and how convenient it was that he had stopped in front of a café.

Now of course he didn't have problems with coming in and sitting down to get something to eat at a (rather nice looking) café…what he did have a problem with was the way the waiter was acting. The moment he set foot inside he was lead to his table by the arm, an action he didn't think much of until his order was placed…in which the waiter winked at him. He was flirting with him…There had to be some kind of policy about doing such a thing, but upon looking around he found that ALL of the waiters (there were _no_ waitresses) were flirting with the customers! What the hell was going on? Had he accidently walking into a host club? It was all too weird, and as soon as his waiter came back he asked him point-blank what kind of café he had entered into.

It was a café that catered to men and women who couldn't afford the high prices of the local host and hostess clubs. Well that did seem like a nice premise…and the more the older male began to think about it the more he began to figure out that if the pay was half of what a host or hostess usually made…then he'd be making quite a bit by working there. Of course the only problem that came with that was how Setsuna would take it; he was the jealous kind, but not to the point where he wouldn't even allow him to interact with other people…but flirting was a totally different matter. He'd never actually gone so far as to flirt with another person, but he was sure of the youngest wouldn't like the fact that he would be getting paid to basically do so.

But he applied anyway…immediately getting himself the job. Before going back home he decided to call ahead just incase he was going to be yelled at, so he took out his phone and dialed the younger male's cell. He felt incredibly nervous, but it wasn't like he'd be cheated on the other male since he had no interest in others (in _that_ sort of way). Upon hearing him pick up, Lyle couldn't help but stutter a little as he began to tell the younger male that he had found a job and just what that job was. There was a short silence on the other end of the line, and he wasn't sure if that meant he was going to be yelled at or if he'd just be hung up on. But he was fairly surprised when all he received was an 'okay', making him bring down the phone and stare in disbelieve at it. He was…okay with it? Thank god…the last thing he wanted was the youngest to hate him for playing the 'flirt' at his job.

When he heard his name called he quickly placed back near his ear, apologizing for his long silence. Setsuna sighed a little, and in a rather bored voice told him that if he just happened to fall for someone on the job that 'something' would be cut off. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the 'something' the younger male was referring to lied in between his legs. But he merely laughed it off and told him that he would never dream of doing something like that, to which he was told to pick up a box of strawberry pocky for him. He was trying avoid the subject…meaning Lyle would have something to deal with by the time he returned home. The younger male probably just wanted more details, since he had only given him the bare minimums as to what the job actually was. That wouldn't be so bad…though it really did depend on the younger male's mood.

Luckily for him he just happened to be in a good one.

"Done." The youngest said as he placed his sketch down. Finally…Sitting up the older male stretched, trying his best work out all the kinks and soreness his body had taken on.

"Can I at least see it?" Lyle said, lying back down on the bed, propping his head up with his hand as he did so. The sketch book was handed to him without much hesitation, and as he looked upon the picture the younger male had just finished he couldn't help but marvel at it.

He was so goddamn talented. Even if the picture looked sketchy (it was supposed to), the older male could tell it was him with the amount of detail the other had placed in it. He wasn't actually aware that one person could put so much detail into a side view, but he was proven wrong time and time again at what a person was capable of when it came to the arts thanks to the younger male. But it wasn't finished yet, oh no, Setsuna still needed to put the finishing touches on it before he deemed it 'done'.

"You know, no matter what you say I still think you're talented." The oldest said, placing the sketch book on the small table next to the bed. All he received was a small shrug from the other, indicating that he was listening but did not necessarily agree with him.

That particular aspect of the youngest had not changed all that much…his unwillingness to accept the fact that he was actually good at something. He always thought that there was room for improvement, in which he needed to try harder to achieve something even when the people around him said that it was fine. Now this wasn't _really_ a negative quality of the younger male, it only became one when he began to overwork himself to the point where he couldn't function probably. Luckily nothing like that had happened in the last few years, and he really hoped it stayed that way. Setsuna really didn't act like his younger self as much, the hours usually spent on homework had been cut down significantly so that the newly found free time could be spent with both him and his brother. That wasn't a bad deal, right?

The other male slipped into bed with him, complaining about the small ache his hands from gripping his pencil too hard. That is usually what happens when you draw for two hours straight, so yes, he could completely understand the pain. He had actually used several pencils to get the shading right, and when asked in the past just why so many were necessarily for one picture he was give an overly complicated explanation about shades, hardness, and color. He really didn't understand art, truthfully he didn't, and a 'just because' answer would've been good enough for him. Taking the other males hand in his, Lyle began to massage it, something both he and Lockon did from time to time. There were two reasons for this; the first, being the most understandable, was to remove some if not all the soreness that had developed in the other male's hands. Seemed pretty reasonable, right? It was…until the second reason came into play.

Setsuna's hands were apparently sensitive. What did this mean? That if touched in a certain way the younger male would emit sounds that would make anyone blush. He sounded so damn…_tempting_. 'Ah', 'kya', 'ha' and 'nyu' (his personal favorite) were all the ones he used regularly and he really had to wonder if it was intentionally (Setsuna said it wasn't, but you never knew with him…). As he continued on with his massaging the oldest tried his best to not let himself become aroused, or at least show it. If he was found out the other male would only make it worse, the sounds becoming much more frequent to the point where pouncing him was all his mind could fathom. The oldest didn't want that…mainly because they would once again getting into a 'fight' and the favorable outcome was leaning towards the other.

But he would get the upper hand before he did…he would merely massage the other into submission. Even if he had never done so in the past, the process didn't seem all that complicated; if the other was sensitive it was just a matter of hitting the right spots, and if done the youngest would practically melt under his touch. Victory would be his…So he set his plan into motion, rubbing the younger male's hand a bit harder to guarantee that said spots were hit head-on. From just that small change he could see that Setsuna had began to fidget, a sign that he was becoming aware that something was going on in his body. His defenses were becoming weak and to further bring them down he pulled the other male forward, attacking the one spot he knew would make him break. His neck.

Lurching forward, the younger male let out a low grown, the words 'cut it out' weakly emerged from those partially parted of his. It was amazing how one person could change when placed in a sexual situation…Even if his brother was better at it he continued to attack the younger male's neck, all the while telling him to 'make him'. He wasn't going to…he'd make sure of it. Running his thumb over Setsuna's palm he began to nip at the skin around his Adam's apple, causing his body to fidget even more underneath him, the sounds emitting from his lips became even more frequent. Why the hell hadn't he thought of doing something like this sooner? If he had known the younger male would react in such a way he would've gladly 'attacked' him like he currently was all the time! No…that wouldn't be right…if he continued to attack in the same way every time, the other male would obviously find a flawless way to counter him…

"L-Lyle…"

But he had more important things to think about at that the moment…Moving down ever so slowly, his tongue leaving a trail in the process, the older male's target was unfortunately being covered by the other's shirt. Damn…but there was an easy solution to his problem. Taking his free hand he slid it up Setsuna's shirt, his target still obscured from his view but now accessible with his fingers. His victim let out a loud moan as his fingers began to play with his left nipple, his head turning to the side and making it so his neck was once again completely unprotected. God he was making this too easy…almost a little too easy. The more then thought about it the more he began to realize that something was going on…and regrettably he found out only a second later that he was being played.

The oldest felt a knee press against his stomach, and the next knew thing he knew he was on his back, the younger male looking down on his with eyes so very clouded with lust. Oh how the look was so familiar to him…

"My turn…"

Dammit…that meant it'd be another night were he needed to hide his neck from the world…

* * *

_**A/N:**_ This is NOT the last chapter! There is more to come.


	20. The Teaching Chapter

"Um, Sensei, how far is Tokyo from here?"

"Not too far."

"Um, Sensei, are panda cats real?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Sensei-"

He really did love his job. Even if it did take him quite a bit of time to get use to everything the first year around, the older male managed to get his act together and function like a teacher should. Well…he functioned like a kindergarten teacher should've, which was to say he was give the freedom to be the kind of teacher he wanted. When contemplating if he actually wanted to work with children, the main factor that played into his decision was if he'd be able to be himself. It was pretty easy to say that Neil was the in no way the poster child for the word 'serious', though of course when the situation called for it he very well could be. But that wasn't _really_ him…so it really didn't make sense to enter into a profession where he needed to act if there was a stick up his ass, mainly a high school or middle school teacher.

Since he really did enjoy being around his sister Amy, and since he did generally like younger children it only made sense that if he wanted to go into the teaching job the younger the child the better off he would be. The older male could be himself around children, because deep down he knew he hadn't matured all that much compared to others. At twenty-four Neil finally understood that he was not cut out for a 'normal' job; the mere thought of having an office job made him bored, and even working at the flower began to take it toll on him after a while. And maybe that's why it didn't come as such a shock to his parents when he told them just what line of work he had chosen since they, well, knew what kind of personality he had. The older male needed stimulation in his life, and he sure as hell wasn't going to get that by sitting at some desk doing paperwork for thirteen hours.

It was a depressing life that he didn't even want to deal with, but since he really didn't think he was qualified to do anything else he was in a bit of a pinch. However, when deciding what classes he wanted to take during his third year of college a few courses he never once noticed caught his eye. Since he had basically taken all of the class he needed to during his first two years, the older male was at a loss as to what he wanted to take for the next two years. He wasn't an artist like Setsuna, or a photographer like Hallelujah, nor did he have any interest in treating sick animals or literature like Allelujah or Tieria did. So that just left him and his brother…two completely boring people…how depressing. But that just couldn't be! He along with Lyle were interesting people without any hobbies or interests! Well…he really couldn't speak for his brother, seeing as how he usually had something to do…so that meant he was the _only_ uninteresting one.

Dammit…that wasn't fair!

But that was exactly the reason why he wanted to do something different for his third year. Neil didn't want to be the only person in his little circle of friends to NOT have some kind of interesting hobby to him, and it really was time he decided as to what that hobby would be. Art was out of the question, because if he was caught taking classes he knew the younger would be more than a little irritated with him. Why? Because even if he didn't offer, he knew that Setsuna wanted to be the one to teach him how to do anything art related. He remembered the last time he attempted to teach himself something relating to drawing and it would mark the last time he ever did such a thing.

It was during the summer, and he really just wanted something fun to do by himself. It really was just a spur of the moment kind of thing, and the cherry blossoms were to blame for it. They were in full bloom, and while walking to the apartment from the bus station he suddenly got the urge to draw them. Now of course he knew he didn't possess any kind of artistic talent whatsoever, so he decided to stop at the book store to pick up something that could help him. He could've easily gone to Setsuna for advice, but it seemed like something he wouldn't be interested in let alone help him with. At the time the younger male was already working on a summer project that needed to be submitted on the first day he attended college, so with that in mind he thought it best not to trouble the other with something trivial. The last thing he wanted the youngest to feel was overworked, so the best thing for Neil to do was keep his little project to himself and see if he faired without his wife.

After purchasing the right book, a simple 'how to' when it came to drawing plants, he left for the small apartment. At the time that was their current residence, but the thought of moving had already been implanted into him. To move while his wife was just starting college didn't make sense…only because that much change at once would wear him down. Until he was completely comfortable with his new school life moving out was of the question, however; that did not mean that looking for places to live was. He was constantly on the hunt for apartments (within Osaka of course) that were affordable for the three of them, and spacious on top of that.

God did they need space…

Upon reaching the apartment he was presently surprised to find both Lyle and the youngest asleep on the floor…completely clothed. Truth be told it was far too hot to even think about screwing, let along fooling around…so the most obvious choices were to either sleep or laze around. As much of a shame as that seemed (and it truly was one), it just meant when the weather actually permitted them to let loose the feeling would be well worth it. Of course the waiting was the hard part…but he had other things to do so it did make up for something. Sitting down at the small table he began to get to work; cracking the book open be stated to go over the basics, reading over what should and should not be done when it came to drawing a tree. Amazingly, there was a lot to learn…it was just a tree! An extremely pretty tree he'd give it that…but it was still a tree! He really did wish he had nature talent like Setsuna, that way he wouldn't be stuck reading overly complicated books about plants.

About twenty into his studying Neil felt a weight press against his back, and he didn't need to turn around to know just what it was. When asked by his wife just what he was doing, he simply replied 'studying'. That had to have intrigued him to some degree, because to hear the word 'study' in any form come out of his mouth was a rarity. How in the hell had managed to complete both high school AND college without picking up a book like a normal person was a miracle in itself…but that was beside the point. The older male felt the other's chin on his shoulder, his automatic response being to show him the cover of what he was reading. A strange silence followed his action, one he wasn't quite sure he could read since it was solely directed at him.

What was the deal? Something was wrong judging by the way the younger male pushed off of him and stormed into the bathroom, but just what hadn't hit him yet. Maybe he just didn't like plants…no, that couldn't have been the problem since he had enjoyed going out and flower viewing ever year. It was one of the few times where the youngest relaxed completely, his entire being giving of a much overdue sigh and relaxing. As always he would be seated in between him and Lyle (because the sad truth was that some old habits couldn't be broken), looking so engrossed in his surroundings that he in no want wanted to disturb him. So the problem wasn't the plants…so maybe it was the book instead. Maybe the younger male was looking down on him for not having natural talent, but then again the other male really wasn't the kind of person to judge people by what they could or could not do.

So what the hell was the problem? He spend the next three days asking the other point blank if something was wrong, but the only thing he received was the silence treatment and the glare every once in awhile. To further irritate him the younger male began to spend a lot more time with Lyle, even going so far as to completely snuggle up to him when the three of them shared a futon or two. Now of course he wasn't upset or jealous of his brother, he was, however, more than a little disappointed with the youngest because he had stooped to such a level just because he was mad. But he had gone into his stubborn mode, so really there was no telling just what lengths he's go to in such a state. Neil was annoyed regardless…and he had ever right to be.

The older male had come to the conclusion that just because Setsuna was his wife, did not mean he couldn't get irritated, annoyed or just down right pissed off at him. So when the fourth day came around he promptly kicked his brother out of the apartment, telling him to find some ice since they were out (which they weren't). It was strange how 'go get some ice' was the new code for 'get the hell out of the apartment, people need to talk', but whatever worked, worked. It was just the two of them, the younger male lying in his futon with his back facing him, while he was sitting against the wall practically burning a hole on the back of the other's head with his stare. Was the problem so horrible that he wouldn't even look at him? That further irritated him…not the fact that he was being ignored, but the fact that there was a problem and that the youngest wasn't speaking about it.

How many times had he told his wife that it was okay to talk to him? How many times had he looked him in the eye and said that 'if he needed to talk it was alright'? Whatever the problem was must've been horribly embarrassing for him not to say a word about it. There really wasn't any beating around the bush with the situation, since it would only prolong it which would in the end lead to him becoming much more irritated. So he went over with the full knowledge that if he said the right things the process would be quite easy, however; if he said something that ticked the younger male off everything would go to hell in a hand basket. Neil needed to think, and think hard…The book wasn't the problem, the topic wasn't the problem, so that only left one thing…the fact that it was an art book. That had to be were the problem lied.

It really didn't take long for him to piece everything together, and the older male couldn't help but sigh. Setsuna was still so complicated…if he wanted to teach him how to draw, why didn't he just come out and say it? Picking up a pillow he gently hit the other male, telling him that he should've just thrown the book away and helped him. Almost instantly his wife jolted up, yelling that doing something to the degree of it would 'make him look stupid'. So? Laughing a little the oldest simply said that he didn't care if he looked stupid, foolish, airheaded or silly he'd still love him in the long run. Apparently the youngest didn't take that comment too well…because the next thing he knew he was on his back, the younger male straddling his waist and looking not too happy.

He thanked his brother for his _wonderful_ timing, because he couldn't remember that last time he ever saw such a look of pure shock on Setsuna's face. It was _**priceless**_. The younger male spent a good twenty minute in one of the corners, muttering how much he 'hated the two of them' and how he 'never wanted to speak to them again'. Obviously he snapped out of the youngest snapped out of his slump once he invited him to help out with his mini project, telling him pointblank that if things became too stressful he could stop helping him without any questions asked.

If that was the outcome for him just buying an art book, he didn't even want to think about what would've happened if he signed up for classes. So that idea was out…and he dare not even think about taking up a photography class. So what was left? He wanted something different, something he could really get into…and then he saw it. It was a whole slew of course dedicated to becoming a kindergarten teacher. He'd never once noticed these courses because, well, he never actually went that far back in the course booklet. But he did like children, and he didn't mind learning something new…so…he signed up for a few classes…without telling anyone. He'd just didn't want everyone to know…especially his wife. The last thing he wanted was for him to think that becoming a teacher was a different way of saying 'get the hint, I want kids', which was absolutely not the case! Just because he liked children, did not in any shape or form mean that he wanted any of his own.

Neil was still young, meaning that taking care of a child of his own was the furthest thing from his mind. He still had a life to live, still had a lot of things he wanted to do, and just because he was married didn't mean he wanted _everything_ that usually came along with it. With that on his mind he began to attend classes and found them to be rather…engrossing. He never thought about it in the past or when he signed up for the classes, but a kindergarten teacher was the foundation builder for children, the one who would set the stones that would determine just how one's child would continue on through the world. That alone seemed stressful, and the more he thought about it the more he seemed to regret his decision. It seemed like such a big task shaping someone so young, and getting them socially ready for the world. He needed someone to confide in…because keeping it in would only eat away at him.

But…could he really go to the younger male? Any kind of topic that dealt with children would obviously send him into distress, and he really didn't want to put that kind of stress on the younger male. However…it would be rather hypocritical of him to not to talk to him, since he had been preaching for god knows how many year that it was important to open up to ones spouse. So…he sucked it up and confronted the younger male, but only because it was fair. Surprisingly the conversation didn't last long, and maybe it had to do with the fact that Setsuna was probably more focused on what he was cooking than what was being said, but he did give him a little 'you can do it, I'm sure you can' before going back to what he was doing. Of course if he'd been in a worse off mood he'd probably think that his wife in no way cared about his plight, but because he knew about the other male's subtle side he could easily point out every little change that indicated that his wife most certainly did care about his problems.

It felt pretty damn good to have the youngest cheer him on, since, well, in the past he hadn't actually done anything in the past that allowed him to do so. He was never into sports so of course he would wouldn't reactive the 'you can do it!' he longed for, though of course there was that ONE time during the sport festival at the village school where the youngest gave him a (very) small 'you did well'. Of course he completely blew any chance of it happening again when he kissed him in front of everyone, ultimately getting himself punched in the stomach and a loud 'I hate you!' thrown at him before the youngest stormed off. He would admit that he deserved it, but that didn't mean he regretted it.

After getting the boost he needed, he continued on with a determination only known once during his entire twenty-four year old life. The one time just happened to be when he decided to pass his entrance exam for college, and he never knew how determined he could be until the thought of actually leaving high school forever actually hit him. He'd never been so intense while taking a test in his entire life…His willpower had managed to get him through the first year of classes, and when the second rolled around he felt completely ready for what was to come. What made it even better was the fact that the younger male would cheer him up when things became too hard…in his own little way. He'd touching him lightly, either on the cheek or neck, and tell him (in an _extremely_ small voice) that everything would be 'just fine'. He never once expressed any kind of anxiety when giving him a 'boost', which told him that he either didn't care or that he was more focused on the fact that he was just helping him in general.

But would he be the same after he found out that his the classes Neil was talking made his motivation to become a teacher stronger? Would he be upset if he actually accepted a teaching job? All of these thoughts ran through his head as he finished all of the courses, wondering briefly if he had done the right thing. However, before he actually began to over think the situation, he asked his wife if he in any way felt anxious about him thinking about taking a teaching job. He merely gave him a very straight forward 'no', but continued on and told him that just because he felt anxious or upset didn't mean it gave him the right to stop pursuing something he truly wanted. That was true…to hold himself back from something he wanted didn't seem right, and Setsuna knew this. That guilt would've eaten away at him, making just being in the room with him awkward. Since _no one_ wanted that, the only reasonable thing he could've done was continue on with what he wanted while getting support from his wife.

And GOD did he need support during the first few months after his job started. He found out the horrible truth that not all children were like his beloved sister…not at all…They were so goddamn hyper! Now that really wasn't the problem, since Amy, who like any other normal four year old, was full of energy. The real problem was that there were so many of them to keep up with (twenty to be exact). Neil would come home completely drained of energy, his back constantly hurting because of all the lifting of young children he had to do. The only good thing about said state was that his wife would offer to give him a back massage, something he never once turned down. However, even through all of his pain he never once complained, knowing that if he did so the younger male would probably kick his ass. He had worked so hard to become a teacher, taking class after class so he could have a job where he wasn't sitting being a desk twenty-four hours a day, so for him to sit around and complain about something that _he himself_ _chose_ would make him look like a whiny brat.

Setsuna was not going to stand for something like that…so (mostly out of fear of being 'punished' by his wife) he just kept trying his best. The whole environment really took him some getting use to, and he really needed to thank the teacher in the room next to him. Her name was Marina Ismail, in charge of the neko class, and apparently the best teacher in the school (not his words, the other teacher's). She was nice, maybe a little too nice, but when it came to helping she never once hesitated no matter what the issue was. Now this wasn't to say that he couldn't get along with the other teachers, since he did generally like all of them, it just happened that whenever there was a problem Marina would just be…there.

However…she _was not_ the sharpest tool in the shed. Just how did he come to this conclusion? Three months into his teaching year, he noticed that the slightly older teacher (by one year) was avoiding him for some reason. When he would try to talk to him she would literally run away, saying that she had something to take care of. No one in their right mind would believe something like that…but he really didn't think much of it until he noticed her giving him an 'I know what you did' kind of look, the very same one his _own mother_ use to give him, that began to get irritated. What the hell had he done? Had he offended her in some way? Neil was extremely grateful that she had been so willing to help him, but all of that helpfulness was about to be thrown out the window if something didn't give. It wasn't like school where he in no way gave a second thought to anything someone had to say about him, since whatever they said wouldn't follow him forever.

Oh no, life was no longer like that; if some sort of rumor was started around the work place, be it true or otherwise, it would follow him wherever he went. If he wanted to take another job, whatever said rumor was about would obviously come up in his new work place. It would follow him _**everywhere**_…Neil wasn't going to allow that to happen, so he needed to confront her…_fast_. The last thing he wanted was to be called some kind of pervert for some unknown reason, lest by the person who had helped him adjust so much to his new work place. But just where would he confront her? The only place she couldn't run of course! Recess. It was a teacher's duty to NEVER leave the children alone while they were outside playing, and Marina was the kind of person who watched over every single child like a mother hawk. Maybe it was wrong of him to take advantage of the situation, but if he didn't and waiting things out they would only get worse.

As he approached her she looked worn out, like she was losing sleep over whatever she had (or had not) found out about him. That was pretty goddamn sad…but she did seem like the kind of person who would worry over the smallest things. Gently he tapped her on the shoulder, which apparently wasn't the best of idea since it startled the living daylights out of her. Quickly apologizing he admitted that he had not meant to completely startle her, the slightly older female saying that it was 'alright' as she held her chest. The oldest didn't even give her a chance to bow and say something nice before leaving, he just asked her pointblank is she had a problem of _any_ kind with him. Looking at him in a slight daze, she blushed deeply, and even though he had never dated a woman in his life he knew that it wasn't a good sign. She had to look away for a moment, letting out a little 'um' before she told him that she had no idea he had another job.

Well hell! That was news to him, since he wasn't aware that he had another job either! Before she continued on with her story, something to the effect of 'when my friends and I went out', Neil asked her if she had met 'him' at a café. Marina nodded before looking away again, saying that she hadn't told anyone else about his late night jobs (she seriously whispered that). Oh boy…So this is what it felt like to be mistaken for someone else…obviously he'd felt it before, but this was the first time it could've really affected him. Sighing a little he took out the all too familiar picture of himself, Setsuna, and Lyle that he always carried along with him, showing it to his fellow teacher and explaining that he was a twin and that the only distinct different between the two of them were the colors of their eyes.

Needless to say she was complete surprised, and he had never been apologized to so many times in his entire live. She really looked like she was about to cry, so before she could he quickly told her that everything was alright. It would've been horrible if any of the children thought he did something to her. Once she had stopped her constant apologies, she couldn't help but ask who the other male in the picture was. Finally they could move on to a topic that actually wouldn't do any damage to him. He did, however learned something very interesting about what happened when you use the word 'wife' in a kindergarten…people seem to flock to you. Maybe it was because he was new and hadn't said much about himself that the teachers had suddenly taken an interest, though of course he would've loved nothing more than to talk about his wife if the topic had come up sooner.

A few of the teachers were surprised, while others weren't that he was married. A few of them were more shocked that he was married to another male than anything else, while a few others thought that his wife looked 'nice' and said nothing more. The older male really didn't mind if they disapproved, just as long as it did not affect their professional relationship in the work place. But then again, the older male had to put human nature into account so there were quite a few unseen forces to deal with.

"Sensei! Sensei! Can we trade side dishes?"

Ah yes, it was another typical lunch day in the sakura class, his class. He'd finally gotten himself adjusted after the first year, learning that dealing with a group of children was hard work but could still be fun in the process. When it came to lunch he had found that the kids liked to trade dished from their bento boxes with each other, and he was no exception to this apparently. Upon finding this out he decided to make (with the help of Setsuna) two boxed lunches, one for himself and the other for his students. The only real difference between the two is that he managed to shape the food for the children into little animals, something that always amused them. Since Setsuna liked to make dished for his younger sister in law, he agreed to teach him just how to make meals that appealed to children. When asked just how he knew what appealed to children (since he had admitted time and time again that he was never been one), he merely answered that 'Lockon likes cute things'.

He was pretty much calling him a child…which he wasn't sure was a compliment or an insult. Neil had managed to learn how to turn hotdogs into octopuses, make onigiri into cute little animals, and how to decorate the bento box with food so it looked 'fun'. It really did help him get popular with his students. Of course he wasn't saying that his students disliked him or anything since he was (apparently) one of the more popular teachers…they just liked him a smidge more when he fed them. It also helped that the food tasted delicious, though maybe 'delicious' was too mild of a word to use when it came to anything the younger male made. A divine intervention was a much better way to describe it, and he knew it he ever called it that in front of his wife he would be severely injured. He didn't like when certain aspects of his life were blown way out of proportion, and even if it was rather cute to seem him blow up…it also hurt.

"Sensei, me too! Me too!" Another one of his students said as more of them began to gather.

"Okay, okay! But you guys know the drill!" Neil said, instantly getting their attention and making them line up. It wasn't like anyone was complaining that he was giving children food, seeing as how what his wife made was also just as healthy as what he was receiving (the youngest made sure of it). Once everything was pretty much gone, his extra bento box pretty much filled with everything he had been given, he began to consume the gifts that had been given to him.

Because the meal the younger male had prepared for him was so small (something he requested), he knew he could eat both without getting too full. Besides, recess was right after lunch so it wasn't like he'd be getting fat anytime soon with all the running around he did. Not mention in the afternoons he had to run to catch the bus, because he, like many other teachers, stayed behind to clean up after the students had left and prepared for the next day's lesson. It was during those planning sessions that he really got to communicate with the other adults in the building, sometimes getting invited to go drinking with a few of them. When he would accept he never forgot to call the younger male or at least his brother so he could relay the message to him, because he didn't even want to think about what would happen if he came home drunk in the middle of the night without tell Setsuna anything.

However, the younger might've been slightly possessive but not so much so that he wouldn't allow him to have a social life. He wasn't so horrible that he would wish ill fortune of anyone who came within a three foot radius of him, oh no, that would've just been ridiculous and something needed to be done quickly if something like that ever happened. Everyone that lived in their apartment had a life outside of being with their lover; the younger male liked to hang out with Christina and Feldt whenever they decided to drop by, as well as Tieria. To see the four otakus all grown up was truly amusing, and seeing as how the younger male had come out of his shell (to a certain point) he would now talked about rather…_intimate _things. It was amazing just how much smut one could talk about in one sitting, and to just sit in and listen was enough to make anyone blush.

There were limits, of course, to just how far they would go, and for his wife it was the actual act of drawing two men in a suggestive position. When the topic would come up (and it _always_ did) for the small group to start a doujinshi circle, the youngest would always flat out refuse. He could watch it, read it, talk about it, and even perform the act of sex…but he could not for the life of him draw it. Maybe it was because he knew how much attention to detail he paid his drawing, and as such he didn't want to spend too much time on drawing certain position in fear that he'd be labeled a pervert. Hell, he even skipped out on the nude drawing portion of his studies! He'd only attended one class, which apparently was enough for him since he came home rather early (according to Lyle who did not need to work until the middle of the night) and wouldn't speak to anyone for the rest of the day.

Because they really wanted the younger male's help, he was (pretty much forced) to notify his wife that he wasn't expected to draw anything hardcore. When he received a small 'I'll think about it' and told the other the younger male's answer, he was pretty much tackled and given a loud 'thank you!' for his troubles. Neil didn't see anything wrong with his wife drawing _fictional_ characters in any kind of position, since, well…they weren't real.

"Um, Sensei, there someone by the door."

"Huh?"

Looking over at the semi-opened door to their classroom, there was indeed a young child peeking into through the door. Oh, that's right! Last week he was told that there would be a small class change, that one student from Shirin-san class (teacher of the peach class) would switch with one of his. It had something to do some whiny parent who didn't want their child being taught by a woman, saying that their child might grow up to be a 'pansy' if it continued. The sheer stupidity of some parents really did scare him quite a bit, and it really did make him fear for the future of a few of his own students. Getting up, the older male walked over to the 'new' student, kneeling down in front of him before giving him a small smile.

"What's your name?" Neil asked as he patted him on the head, earning a small 'um' from him. Moving into a new class was a hard thing, the oldest knew this, so it was probably better to take things slow in order to get the loan boy adjusted.

The small boy managed to mutter something, but because he was behind still basically standing outside of the door it was muffled by the piece of wood. He asked politely if he could come in, since it was going to be his new classroom for the remainder of the school year. When he came out just a little the older male asked if had eaten any thing yet, seeing as how they were in the middle of lunch. When he heard a small 'my daddy didn't pack anything' it was clear that the answer was no. Goddamn…what kind of parent couldn't pack a lunch for their kid? Sighing a little he knew that there was only one thing to do, and he really didn't mind giving away the lunch Setsuna had made for him.

So he took the unnamed boy by the hand and led him over to his desk, where he presented him with the extra lunch his wife had made. Once given to him the lone boy just looked at it, as if completely unsure as to what had just taken place. It was like he'd never seen or had been given a bento box before. Kneeling down once more he told the nameless child that he could eat it, the only requirement was that he returned the box once done. The boy looked at him and then smiled slightly, a small blush forming in his features in the process.

"U-Um…S-Saji Crossroad…"

"Hm?"

"T-That's my name…S-Saji Crossroad…"

It was nice that the small boy had told him his name, but Neil couldn't shake the feeling that he'd heard that name before…usually being yelled by-

"SAJI!"

_Her_…He had also learned from teaching that there would always be that _one_ student in ones class, that one student that always seemed to develop a one-sided crush on another and was rather hard to deal with…Louise Halevy was that child. She was loud, hated taking any kind of direction, and would forever cling to one Saji whenever the two of them were together at recess. And now they were in the same class together…She hated pretty much everything that was done in the class, refusing to partake in any activity that he worked so hard to put together for them. It was rather obvious that she was either just being defiant for the hell of it or if it was a parenting issue. Whatever the reason was he was told by Marina that rebellious student would eventually come around if you have enough patience with them…and he really hoped that was true…

It was going to be one _**long**_ school year…

* * *

He always did enjoy basking in twilight, especially when only a few hours later he was going to be thrust back into the hectic world was that veterinary school. He knew it would be hard from the very beginning, knew that the it required him to attended another four years of college that would be sheer hell on him. But none of this stopped him from continuing on, because it was something he'd wanted since he was small and had no desired to end up like so many others before him. Childhood dreams were usually never fulfilled, for the simple purpose that they were either too hard to obtain or didn't make enough income like one originally thought. It was the sad fact of the world that people usually stopped dreaming after entering high school, and he had witnessed so many people he had know since living in the village completely change.

But then there were the people who had already obtained their dream and had no idea what to do with themselves…people like Tieria. His wish to leave the village for good had come true, and even though they had traveled a hard road just to get that freedom it was well worth it in the end. Truly it was hell, and he was sure the three of them had no desire to experience it again. There had always been problems with the second youngest _really_ leaving the village, Allelujah knew this, but it reached its boiling point a year after the younger male had graduated from high school. A whole three months later the three of them had move out of the village, but of course not without a little drama from the younger male's family.

Because the second youngest still had a few things he needed from home, both he and his brother followed him to make sure he was not physically harmed again. He still felt so much hurt for allowing it to happen the first time around, but then again there was no telling just what he had gone through in the past. That hurt the most…that he was being hurt without telling anyone. The 'younger' Haptism would only clean his wounds in the past, never once prying because it was truly none of his business. How wrong he was…but if he had known, who would he tell? The authorities? It was pretty much common knowledge that the authorities couldn't touch that family, nor would they even consider it. So…he was left all alone and pretty much at a loss as to what should've been done. Either way…he would've been helpless. Ignorance was bliss, and maybe Tieria wanted it that way in order for everyone around him to have a 'normal' childhood. However…they were not children anymore.

Upon reaching the younger male's house the air instantly changed; it was heavy, so much so that it felt as if it was weighing him down. He might not have been the most observant person in the world, but Allelujah knew that something was going to happen between those walls before they decided to even leave the premise. Because of this he never once let Tieria out of his sight, fearing that someone would take him away the moment his eyes left him. The paranoia he felt didn't sit well with him, and he had to wonder if there would ever be a time where such a feeling wouldn't exist. But because it wasn't in his nature to say 'never', he knew that day would come where the three of them could be happy. Someone needed to have the burden of a having a positive outlook, even if he didn't believe it all the time…good things did blossom out of bad situations.

Someone needed to smile when others didn't…

He never remembered the younger male's room being so bare in the past, finding that it was truly filled with nothing. When asked just what they were there for, he was told that in order to get to it the floorboards needed to be moved. He was hiding something? Well if there was something of value that he wanted to keep hidden from the inhabitance of the house that would've probably been a good place to do so, maybe not the best, but still good. He along with Hallelujah picked up the tiles they were directed to, and upon moving them found a small box that lookeed like it had been there for quite some time. Before the 'younger' Haptism could question just what was inside, his brother beat him to it, asking rather bluntly why they needed to take such a 'shitty looking box with them'.

Kneeling down the younger male removed the top, showing off a boat load of want looked like old trinkets. Upon further inspection it he found that the various items were actually familiar to him…only because he along with the others were the ones that had given them to him. They were old gifts…Tieria explained that within the small box were the only things that hadn't been taken, broken, or burned in front of him by his parents or cousin. There was smile on his face as he told them this, one filled with so much melancholy that it caused a small chill to run down his spine.

There were the things he held dear, but because of the way his family thought he needed to hide them from the world. That wasn't right…which was why Allelujah was so glad they were taking him away. But some had other plans. There were only in the room fifteen minute before _he _walked in, the only human being he could say that he truly hated…Ribbons. The strange thing was that he wasn't wearing his usual smug look on his face…in fact he looked down right pissed off. But before he could waltz over and say anything to Tieria, the 'elder' Haptism stood between the two of them, saying that he really should've been careful as to what he said in the following seconds. The air stiffened for few moments before punches began to be thrown, and from the looks of things his brother was on the losing end. When they were on the ground, his brother's arm being twisted behind his back as his face was being pushed into the floor, his body just moved on its own.

Maybe it was his brotherly instincts that took over, but the next thing he knew he was furiously hitting the younger male's cousin, yelling that he had no right to 'touch his brother'. He had never felt so…_**irritated**_ at one person before. He was privileged to the point where he thought he could do no wrong, thought he could toy around with people and wrap then around his little finger. But they wouldn't take that anymore…Upon getting himself pulled off of the much older male, the second oldest knew that he had gone too far. No one said anything, only picking up the small box of trinkets and quickly leaving, never looking back. As much of a good release he got out of punching the living daylight out of the pompous ass, he could help but notice the utter look of horror on the younger male's face.

But he didn't think much about it, he didn't think much about anything until he was actually there, standing in the place they would call their new home. It was a small apartment, only possessing one bathroom and bedroom, a small kitchen and a nice balcony. That was enough since it was just the three of them, and the more he thought about the fact that it was indeed _**JUST**_ the three of them his mind began to wander. They were adults now (well, sort of), and since there were no parental units around, well…it didn't take a genius to figure out just what could've gone on in that apartment. Now his mind had never really roamed to anything perverted when it came Tieria, but for some reason he couldn't stop himself upon moving into their new living area. He felt so horrible for thinking about someone like that! But…it was a part of life, right?

Having thoughts of sex were a completely common part of being a male, right? Then…why did he feel so horrible? Maybe it was because he had known the younger male for so long that he felt so damn guilty, so he thought that maybe consoling his brother would help him get over it slightly. It didn't…it really didn't. The only thing he received from the other was a 'you like him right? Then go for it!' before being laughed at. This was serious! What if one night his impulses got to him? What if he began to sleepwalk and did something horrible to second youngest? Even if that did sound a bit farfetched, it was still a possibility and that made being around the other extremely uncomfortable. Every time they touched he couldn't help but blush, knowing that his actions couldn't have gone unnoticed.

It was so…embarrassing.

Since he did hold a little more faith in his brother than other, he tried again, putting on a more serious tone as he begged for _some kind_ of advice. Instead of his usual sarcasm, Hallelujah told him pointblank that he was too 'goddamn pure' to understand anything. Before any question could be asked he was dragged out of the room, their destination completely unknown until it was far too late. Everything happened in slow motion after that; he was pushed rather roughly over the top of couch, and as he saw just what he was about to fall on he couldn't help but gasp. Tieria…he was just sitting there on his stomach reading a book, wearing something that was appropriate for the weather but in no way appropriate for his imagination.

Because it was so hot outside and because the air-conditioning could only do but so much, the three of them needed to wear something airy or suffer the consequences of overheating. For the second youngest it just happened to be a mere tank top and shorts, but from the way he was lying on the couch there was definitely some exposure. As he approached the other male, impact intimate, the only thing he could go was mutter a small 'eep' which apparently got the younger male's attention. Both of them emitted a very loud 'GAH!' as he collided into Tieria, the force of the impact causing them to bounce off of the couch and onto the floor. Unfortunately (or maybe not) he was the first to his the wooden floor first, knowing that there would be some kind of complaints from the people downstairs because of it. It wasn't until the beating pain in his head began to subside that he notice the younger male was yelling at his brother, and that his lower half was moving around a bit too much.

His body was at its limit with that, and has he felt the growing bulge in his pants he couldn't help but throw one of his arms over his face. He began to apologize over and over again, feeling so ashamed with how his body was reacting. When everything grew quiet, he knew…he knew he'd been found out and that something horrible was going to happen. He had a goddamn _hard on_, no good could or would come out of that! Upon feeling the weight on his hips leave him, the sound of a door slamming following soon after, Allelujah was pretty sure that his life was over. No one spoke to anyone the rest of the day, which was probably better since he had no idea what could've been said about the ragging boner he had earlier in the day. It went on like that for about a week, the 'elder' Haptism yelling at the both of them that they should've 'stop acting like a bunch of high schoolers'.

Maybe that was true, but it was much easier said than done. Even if they were dating some kind of line must've been crossed, because the second youngest was not the kind of person who would quickly jump on the idea of having sex. Well…that's what he had originally thought until he was pulled into the lone room they owed, Tieria looked quite desperate as well as scared. When quickly asked if something had happened to him he merely shook his head, relying that he had spoken to his brother. He froze. Granted Hallelujah wasn't the kind of person to tell and outright lie, but he did have the habit of stretching the truth just a bit. The younger male said that he had heard about his 'problem' (and right then and there he felt like passing out), but knew that it was because of him that he was having one. That wasn't- well…maybe that was the truth, but that didn't mean ALL the blame could be put on the youngest.

When the question of 'will doing it help?' came out of the other's mouth, he couldn't help but blush deeply. Maybe if he allowed all the blood to rush to his head he could've passed out properly…It was too much for him, far too much, but if he did pass out what would become of his dignity? He was a man now so…so he needed to act like one! So he kissed Tieria hard, hard enough to earn a small sound for him…_then_ promptly passed out. That was manly, right? Well maybe not, since he awakened to his brother dying of laughter on the floor. Nothing was going the way it was supposed to, so instead of blowing off the entire day he decided to deal with the problem. His problem.

Allelujah had never felt so nervous while sitting next to the second youngest. It was a Sunday so it wasn't like either of them had anything to do, but they had been sitting in the same position for more than twenty minutes. But he couldn't sit there forever…so he lifted his right arm and placed it around the younger male's shoulders. That was a start, a very nice start, and it didn't make sense to stop there. No…it didn't make any sense…but he was frozen! He couldn't move goddammit, and he was so happy when he heard the phone ring so he could take it mind off of his actions for a little while. But it wasn't a very nice phone call…It was a mother, and he had never heard her sound so frantic in his entire life. He tried to calm her down so she could explain properly, but the noise in the background prevented any of this. The only things he managed to make out were that there were 'people trying to break into the house' and that 'they needed to come home quickly'.

That was all he really needed to hear…

From train it took about an hour to get to the northern town, and about twenty minutes by bus to reach the village…that was too long. He had wanted to come alone, but Tieria insisted on coming since it was 'Lilith they were talking about', which was pretty fair given their relationship. Because he didn't want to alarm Hallelujah who was away looking for work, he reframed from calling him until he knew exactly what was going on. It wasn't good…Upon reaching his house he found that the door had been kicked in, which in turn caused him to panic and do what was probably the stupidest things ever…run in without announcing himself. What if the person was still inside? What if they were armed? Well…none of that mattered as he laid eyes his completely destroyed house. Everything that was breakable was broken, and all the furniture had been turned over, looking as if a storm had gone through the entire house. Instinctively he began to call out to his mother, hoping that nothing had happened to her.

Upon hearing a small sound come from the second floor he quickly rushed up, hoping that he there wouldn't be a bloody scene before him. The top floor looked just as bad as the first one, and he really had to wonder just who would've done such a thing. The first place he checked was the bathroom, and he probably should've announced himself because he received a not so nice soap dish against the forehead after opening the door. He recovering after a few short moments, to which he was tightly held, his mother practically balling into his chest. It wasn't right…why would anyone want to hurt her? He was sure she didn't have any enemies, so that made it even harder to figure out just why something like his house being ransacked would even take place.

But from that moment on things only became worse; his mother had been put through what could easily be called a living hell, from the harassment by the 'men in worker outfits', to being stalked where ever she went. She was seriously about to lose it, and around that time she had reduced her alcohol intake by quite a bit and the last thing he wanted was for her to revert back to her old habits. Answers needed to be given…_quickly_. The 'younger' Haptism unfortunately found those answers in the middle of the night; he wasn't sure why he decided to wake up at such an ungodly hour, the lack of weight next to him probably had something to do with it. He didn't need to go far to find the missing weight, since he was sitting on the floor staring at his phone. There was no need for him to look over at the clock with blurry vision and try to guess was time it was, it was dark, he'd waken up, so that meant that it was late. Calling out to the younger male didn't seem to stir him at all, which did concern him a little.

Groggily he slid down next to him, half expecting him to be texting Setsuna for some reason. From time to time the second youngest had a hard time sleeping, and if the day in question just happened to one where Setsuna was watching late night anime the two of them talked. Just what the youngest was watching was never disclosed to him, and for some reason Tieria refused to tell him. He couldn't help but laugh ever so slightly at this fact; in the past the younger male had been such a prude (which wasn't an insult since he was one too), and if indeed he was watching what he thought he was watching than he had grown out of it.

At least he was growing up…the 'younger' Haptism was still so uneasy about the topic, even if he never really showed such a thing in the past. Sure he held the one he love, kissed him, and slept in the same bed with him, but…he couldn't bring himself to perform the _completely healthy_ act of sex. Was it immaturity that gripped him? Or was it lack of readiness? He wasn't sure…but he did know that the more he thought about it the more confused he became.

Looking over at the phone he didn't recognize the number at all, and from the way the second youngest was staring at the phone neither did he. The messages from the unnamed person were all the same, and no matter how many times Tieria replied 'who is this?' it was always the same. _I love you_…it never stopped, not even for a second. There was no way anyone would've just given his number away, so for some random stranger to have some how obtained it was odd. Or maybe they weren't random…The more time went on the more horrified the other male began to look, and he knew that there was only one person that could make him have such a look. His cousin. Quickly taking the phone away he dialed the number, knowing full well that he couldn't let his emotion get the better of him. But when dealing with the much older male it was pretty goddamn hard…

When someone did pick up Allelujah immediately began to question them about everything, if they were the reason for his mother's harassment over the pass few months and if they were the ones responsible for the text messages the second youngest were getting. Silence was all he received…followed by laugher. He was the cause…and to further prevent any misfortunes the three of them decided it was time to confront the older male. The next day they made their way back to the village, the air becoming tenser as they arrived at their destination. It had to be the final time they dealt with the younger male's family, because if not their hell would never end. It wasn't fair…why couldn't they just live in peace? Why couldn't _his own mother_ who had gone through so much have peace? But just asking 'why' wasn't going to move the situation along.

Hallelujah really looked as if he could hardly contain his anger, which was understandable, but wasn't going to help the situation. He had not spoken a word to either of them, only muttering a few curses under his breath as time went on. The 'younger' Haptism knew his brother very well, and because of this he knew that an almost silent Hallelujah Haptism was a dangerous creature. Something inside of him was boiling, and it would only take a small spark for there to be a complete eruption. So as they arrived at the large house, the only thing he hoped was that Ribbons did not taunt him to such a point. But…knowing the much older male that was probably the first things he would do.

Tieria took the lead, giving them a small apology before stepping in the building. It was his fault…none of it was. He was just as innocent was the rest of them, and maybe even more so. Just because he was related to the people who were causing so much turmoil within their lives, did not mean he had to shoulder the burden of his family's misdoings. If he had to remind the younger male of this everyday, he would. Lover or friend, he wasn't going to have anything happen to him because of a few ill thoughts. If something like that did occur he would completely blame himself for it, because he felt that it was his responsibility to make the younger male happy. But maybe that too was too much of a burden to shoulder himself…

They were waiting for them, the younger male's family, and looked as if they were just as ready as they were. It didn't take long before the second youngest was on his knees, head pressed firmly against the ground as he begged to be forgiven for his 'sins'. No…there was no need to do something that like, since he had done nothing wrong. As much as he hated to see the younger male's shame, but maybe it was the only form of fighting the three of them could try. Irritating them wasn't going to work in their favor, so…maybe. A few words were exchanged, the younger trying his best to plead his case to deaf ears. He had never seen him like that before, had never seen him belittle himself to the point of almost tears. He shouldn't have been the only one to bring himself down to such a level. Because of this he couldn't help but throw himself into the fray, tossing his own opinions out there even if he knew it wouldn't be heard.

The two of them sounded as if they were begging to keep their jobs at an office building, which was pretty degrading in itself but that was beside the point. Throughout all of their begging he notice that they weren't paying them any mind, which was understandable, but instead of completely ignoring them all of their attention was focused on his brother. Why? Because he wasn't bending to their will…By just standing there he was defying them, and maybe it was because the second youngest knew what would happen to people like that, he pleaded for the 'elder' Haptism to kneel. But he didn't…instead he merely said that he 'wouldn't bow down to a bunch of control freaks'. Everything went silent after that, and once Ribbons began to speak he couldn't help but feel the pit of his stomach sink. An agreement was proposed to them: Tieria would be completely free from the house, no more harassment of any kind, if Hallelujah could withstand being broken.

That did not sound pleasant at all…

But no protests could be voice because the 'elder' Haptism had already stepped forward and accepted. There would be no changing his mind, and when he told him to take the second youngest and leave that feeling in his stomach became much worse. Doing what he was told he took the other male and left, but not without him struggling. It became so bad that he had no choice but to sling the younger male over his shoulder just to walk, his head taking a few blows in the process. He was yelling at him as he thrashed about that he should've 'stopped his brother' and that he 'didn't know what he was getting himself into'. He knew this…he knew goddammit, and as soon as they reached the bus stop he pushed the younger male down on the seat and told him that he knew. However, even if he knew, even if he was completely scared for the well being of his own brother…it didn't mean he'd lose faith in him.

Both the bus ride and train ride were a silence one for the two of them, because there really wasn't anything to be said. The silence continued on even as they reached the apartment, the two of them never once attempting to speak to the other until it was the middle of the night. Hallelujah has still yet to return and he could not for the life of him get any sleep, and seeing as how he had school in the morning his lack of slumber was going to haunt him as the day went on. Tossing and turning didn't help at all, and with the amount of worry on his mind he couldn't even fathom the idea of counting 'sheep'. It wasn't until he noticed the bedroom door begin to open that his mind could finally focus on something, and that something happened to be the second youngest. He looked as if he too hadn't gotten any sleep at all, which wasn't completely unexpected. What he himself did next that was, indeed, unexpected.

Maybe it was because his body was tired and deprived, or maybe it was because it was just plain fed up and wanted his mind to completely forget about what had gone on that day…but without much word he pulled the other male into his bed. He wasn't sure just how long the two of them were there or just how many times they had done it, but upon waking up he found that the sun had already risen. Before practically sprinting out of the bed to get ready, Allelujah waiting a few moments as he admired the sleeping figure next to him. He was clinging to his arm tightly, looking so worn out in the process. Having been their first sexual encounter of course there would be a few side effects they weren't use to…like his complete inability to move due to lack of energy. That wasn't good…he needed to be somewhere but his body refused to listen to him. Though of course he wasn't in any way denying that have the other male next to him felt much better than before, and the thought of missing one of two classes that day did occur to him.

He really did want to stay like that, basking in the heat that was another person, but his body decided it wanted to react a little too quickly to the sound of the front door opening. Quickly throwing on a pair of pants and a shirt that had been discarded that night, he made his way into living room where he witnessed his brother collapse onto the couch. Crouching down in front of him he could easily see that he had been battered and bruised, and because he was a good brother he decided to keep all of the 'are you alright?' comments to himself. He was obviously alive and that's all that really mattered, so as the 'elder' Haptism turned over, an all too familiar smirk spread across his lips, the only thing he muttered to him that entire day was that he had 'won'. That too also mattered.

From that point on no one asked his brother about what had gone on in that house, because it just made life easier for everyone. The most logical step would've been to just get on with life, but for some reason Tieria was having the hardest of times adjusting. It was probably better to say that he lacked a few skills that normal people would've possessed around his age, and because of this he couldn't seem to keep a normal job to save his life. So the younger male was really just trying to find himself as he went through life, and he really didn't mind helping him along the way. Of course that wasn't to say that they were not supporting themselves at, which was quite the opposite. Because he had taken a paid internship at the local veterinarian office to gain a little hands-on experience, it was pretty much how the two of them were surviving since his brother had moved out, which wasn't all that bad since he was only two floors below them.

"You're up here again?" Came a voice from behind him. Looking back the slightly older male smiled a little as the still very tired looking figure of the other male leaned against the entrance to the roof, yawning as he stood.

"Sorry, I didn't want to wake you though." Allelujah said, stretching as he did so. He had been up there for quite some time, and maybe it was time to get back to the room. But before he could even rise, he felt the younger male lean against him, forehead pressed against the very bottom of his neck. He really was tired…

"We can stay up here…its okay…"

"Are you sure?"

All he received was a small nod, and after that he was sure that the younger male had fallen asleep. He had just gotten back from Okinawa with the 'elder' Haptism, so of course the both of them would be jetlagged. Unfortunately he was far too busy to even think about taking off a few days to a week, but he still continued to promise the younger male that he'd go with them 'the next time'. It was false hope, he knew, but it would happen one day, he was sure of it. Upon hearing Tieria mutter something under his breath, which did startled him slightly, he turned around slightly and held him. He asked if the two of them could go out tomorrow since it was his day off, to which he simply replied that it was completely alright.

The slightly older male really didn't get that many days off out of the week, and maybe that was why he tried his best to spend as much time with the second youngest as he could…because he knew that in the future his 'free time' would most definitely be limited due to work. It was a hard path he had chosen, but he knew the consequences of his actions even before he took the first steps. But that was far too depressing to think about, and when the time came he could think about it all he wanted to…but not now. Now all he wanted to do was take the younger male inside, because the wind was starting to pick up and he really wasn't wearing all that much. If the weather report was correct they would have clear skies all day, but judging by the way his brother's cat decided to stay in someone had made a miscalculation. Picking the lighter male up he left, hoping that his afternoon commute wouldn't be too horrible.

He really didn't like the rain much.


	21. The Otaku Chapter

The topic had finally made it into their conversation, and even if he knew it would've one day he still couldn't help but cringe. He was always given the same two options…two options that would basically determine how he spent the majority of his summer. This might've sounded like a rather good thing, seeing as how he seriously had nothing to do when the heat in Osaka reached its peek; however, there was a limit…Did he know the just what he was getting himself into when he first decided to drive into the anime world? No…no he didn't, and his vague knowledge of it did not help at all. Because of this he was introduced to things both wonderful and horrifying…

Two of these things, which just happened to be his options, were cosplay and doujin. Setsuna had had his shared of both good and bad experiences with these two activities, only because he had been unintentionally pushed in their direction. Of course the good memories he would cherish forever, but the bad ones he really wanted to forget about like a horrible dream that hadn't actually occurred in the real world. But no…they had occurred, and he truly wasn't sure if his own ignorance was to blame for the events that had taken place in the past. It probably should've been noted that he had nothing against either of this activities; in fact he respected the people involved in them, only because it truly did seem as if they put a lot of work into the things they produced. Most if not all of the cosplayers he had met had admitted that they had made their own outfits, which truly did impress him since he had zero knowledge about how to sew.

The youngest remembered exactly how he was 'accidentally' tricked into cosplaying, and the only accident was that he didn't watch what he said around one Christina Sierra. It was the year he had turned seventeen, and a summer that was pretty much unbearable by anyone's standards. There was something he needed to do, he was sure of it, but because of the weather he barely had enough energy to sit up. The only form of entertainment he for a good two hours was staring at the condensation on the glass that had been placed in front of him by his husband, who he was sure had spoken to him at some point but he was too out of it to even investigate.

By then he really should've been use to the heat of the summers in Osaka, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to do anything other just lie on the floor and wonder just what the hell he _could've _been doing. It was a sad and pitiful that he truly had no motivation, and even sadder that he didn't even move when he felt someone move their hand down his back and then to his rear end. It was obvious that whichever Dylandy twin it was had a death wish, but they were probably just doing it to get some kind of rise out of him…and try to make him do _SOMETHING_. He really couldn't blame them; he had barely said anything to them that day, so of course they'd be worried about his well-being. Hell, he himself was worried about his well-being! The lone fan in the room was bowing on him, so shouldn't that have made it easier for him to just get up and do something? Apparently not…

He was, however, snapped out of his lazy trance somewhat when his phone was placed in front of his face, the name 'Chirs' lighting up the screen. It would've been rude to just ignore it, so he answered it, missing the phone a few times before actually doing so since his arms were pretty much spent. Since it was a few degrees cooler (_only_ a few) in Tokyo he wasn't surprised in the slightest that she sounded slightly more awake than he did. Clearly she was just as in bad of shape as he was, but at least she sounded as if she was doing something, maybe not productive, but something. Christina quickly admitted that she was pretty damn bored, so much so that he had only managed to get through half of her recent copy of _Weekly Shonen Jump_. God…she _was_ bored.

The two of them engaged in a pretty long conversation before actually getting to the main point, which was usually how the brunette worked. It was strange how she unintentionally lured people into pointless conversations, usually having something to do about the scenery, the weather, something she read or something she heard. Setsuna really didn't mind though, since if she had some kind of bad news it usually (not always) softened the blow. She kind of had a mind that wandered, which was why it was so easy for her to lose track of what had initially wanted to speak about. However, even if her mind wandered during certain events she was as focused as ever when it came to anime. All of her attention was focused on the screen, and even though she wasn't as quiet as he was (she was rather loud actually) _nothing_ else could draw her attention away from what she was watching.

When she finally asked if he would come over, it did surprise him slightly since she never once offered in the past. Originally he thought she found the idea of having a male over a little uncomfortable, since inviting the opposite sex over did have certain implications. But it wasn't until he was told by Feldt that he learned the true reason; apparently her parents were a little…embarrassing, feeling that in order for them to become closer to their child that they needed to act in a way they 'thought' would appeal to her. So this meant misusing terms, comment that they were completely okay with her liking 'boy porn' since it was a 'completely natural thing a girl her age to be curious', and that they pretty much called everything she did 'ultra kawaii'. That sounded pretty rough…and maybe that made the fact that his own parents never once got themselves involved in his 'hobby' (what they called it) a good thing.

Not wanting to be a rude (and for a sheer fact that he was rather curious about the younger female's living area) he agreed, Christina commenting that she had already contacted Tieria so there was no need for him to do so. Everything was set, and the only thing he needed to do was force himself to move. He needed to get up, because the last thing he wanted was to make an appointment and then completely blow it off. Groggily he sat up, hoping that he had washed his summer clothes so he did not die from overheating. His first thought was to just throw on what he could and just leave, but because he had been basically doing nothing but lying around for most of the day it just didn't seem right. So he got up and retreated to the bathroom, hoping that if he doused himself with enough cold water that he'd be fine. Luckily his hopes had turned out to come true…The moment he stepped out of the bathroom he was finally awake, so much so that he had enough energy to ask his husband and Lyle to accompany him to Shibuya.

At the time he still really couldn't handle large crowds, and to just get by he _needed_ to have the both twins with him. The youngest waited for the two of them, wondering briefly if buying a present of some sort would've been a good gesture. Cake was usually what one brought over for a gathering (or so he had heard), but it was a very common fact that girls were rather careful with what they ate. At school he always overhead the female students talking how eating cake was so 'horrible' for their figure, and that one once month was good enough. That sounded horrible…but then again he also had to factor in the fact that said girls were trying to impress someone. He had never once heard the younger female speak about a love interest, unless it was about fictional characters of course. Seeing as how she was pretty open it did seem a little odd, but then again it wasn't like everyone fell in love when they entered high school.

Then there was the whole 'Christina was an athlete' fact that also needed to be taken into consideration. When not participating in otaku related events, she was always doing something outside. From tracking running to baseball she was a pretty active person, a point proven in a painful way when he decided to help her practice for school baseball tryouts. It was a rather well known fact (at least among the Dylandy twins) that when involved in some kind sport that required any kind of ball, at some point or another he would be hit square in the forehead with it at least once. The younger wasn't sure why he had neglected to remember something so goddamn important, but he did remember upon waking up five minutes later, the brunette nearly in tears, and a bump on his forehead. Needless to say, she could throw _pretty damn hard_.

Buying a cake really didn't seem like a problem is he really thought it over, so when the Lockon and Lyle were done getting ready he told them that they were going to make a small detour. He remembered that there was a café near the train station in Shibuya, and even if he had only ordered a small drink from there it was rather hard to miss the display case partially filled with cakes. It could easily be deducted that they were not frozen and put on display since the place reeked of fresh cake batter, and since he didn't have the time that was pretty good substitute for his own cooking. Upon leaving the apartment the first thing the twins did was distract him with a conversation, because they knew that it helped ease him into the station without him freaking out too much. His could only be truly focused on one thing at a time, but that did not mean he wasn't aware of his surrounding changing. It was the reason why his anxiety couldn't completely diminish even with the Dylandy twin's best efforts…he was just too aware of what was going on around him.

This was why he always grabbed someone's hand, but just which twin wasn't made known to him until they came to their destination. It wasn't like it mattered really, since it was the two of them speaking to him and trying their best to calm him down. The train ride was never long since he never focused on the time, but what was going on outside the window and the people around him. It was amazing just how much construction had gone on around the town, and the only reason he wasn't complaining was because it had not reached the small village yet. As much as he tolerated change, that was something he really wouldn't stand for; the village never should've been touched by development, and maybe the youngest was being slightly selfish for wanting nothing to happen to it. It was fine just the way it was, its quaintness obviously rubbing off since he felt so passionate about it. He wasn't going to lose his…home.

An hour into his thoughts (which only felt like a few minutes) they had come to a full stop, which made him rather thankful because the smell of sweaty random people did not sit well with him. It was just another reason why he hated the summer so much; along with the unbearable heat that always seemed to drain his energy, there was the horrid stench of perspiration in the air that always seemed to linger. This was exactly why he liked the fall and winter more than any other seasons, because he didn't have to smell another human being while walking outside. Maybe it was because he had been around them for so long, but the strange thing was whenever the twins perspired he didn't smell a thing. In fact he actually enjoyed it when they did, finding the image rather…erotic. Of course he hadn't told them this, but he would eventually since, well, there wasn't any point in hiding it. Truth be told there wasn't much point in hiding much from them anymore, but at seventeen he had still yet to learn something like that.

Instead of leaving the train station and heading to the brunette's place (directions e-mailed to the day after he graduated), the three of them made their way to the small shop near the Hachiko statue. The place always seemed packed, and the moderate prices and nice atmosphere clearly having something to do with it. To make their visit less of a hassle, he decided the let the twins pick out the cake they were going to offer as a gift. He'd come to the realization that he was a bit too meticulous when it came to picking anything out, usually resulting in him spending an hour or two just trying to narrow down his options. It was just in his nature to do so, and even if he had managed to control it slightly it still took him longer than a normal person to make a decision. Not wanting to spend ungodly hours trying to pick out a _cake_, he stood by the entrance and waited, wanting absolutely nothing to do with the decision making.

He was sure that if he even looked at one of the baked goods he'd be asked if he wanted it, thus starting his mind into a rather long decision making process for something so simple. Hell, he didn't even bother looking over at the display case! It was a sad little fact about himself, he knew, but at least he knew enough about it to deal with it. While standing near the entrance Setsuna couldn't help but gaze outside, watching the people as they walked by the shop. It wasn't until five minutes into his people watching that he saw them…the Trinity siblings…plus one more. He'd heard around the school that there was a third Trinity, but not caring too much about it never once did he investigate. They were the enemy when the younger male was in high school, so why should he bother to learn anything about them? They were cruel and that was enough for him to know. But…as he looked upon them he didn't feel anything, no hate, spite, anything…The youngest had gotten them out of his system.

The third member of their little party looked taller than the other two, which of course told him that he was older. He looked a hell of a lot more composed than his other siblings, but that could've easily been a façade so he wasn't going to judge too quickly. The older male looked nothing like his siblings, and as he thought about it _none_ of them looked related. It was just…strange…but it was also something that should've been left alone since it could've lead to learning something rather privet. He had no intention of bothering them at all, knowing that they probably didn't even want to see his face after what he had done. Did he feel guilty? No…but he knew that speaking to them would overstep his boundaries. Well…in the _beginning_ he had no intentions of going over to them, but upon seeming them leave, dropping something from one of their shopping bags, he just acted.

He left the shop, completely forgetting about the cake and the twins as he picked up the almost lost item, calling over to them as he did so. And obvious silence followed, and he was also not surprised in the slightest when the item was snatched out of his hand by Michael, who had ever right to look as pissed off as he did. The tension finally broke when the oldest of the three finally spoke, apologizing for his younger brother's 'rude behavior'. Michael apparently didn't like this, yelling at the other male as he commented that he was speaking to the person who had beaten him in school. Well…that was a good way of putting it…but it was what happened when someone just let out all of irritation they felt. Setsuna almost expected to be dealt some kind of physical punishment as payback for what he had done, since most people would've loved nothing more than to avenge their sibling.

But apparently the much older Trinity didn't fall under the 'most people' category. He just laughed, patting him on the head as he apologized again, this time for his brother being a complete and utter ass. Strangely enough he couldn't help but think of Allelujah when speaking about his own brother. The younger male just looked at the other male in slight shock, wondering briefly if he was being messed with. After saying something so outrageous he finally introduced himself as Johann Trinity, a name he'd actually heard before the moment. It was only uttered a few times by his husband during study sessions for his collage courses, the person in question usually described as knowledgeable but cold when it came to asking him any kind of question. He didn't sound like that great of a guy, and if the youngest tried hard enough he could probably figure out his personality solely based on numerous fictional characters that sounded just like him.

The youngest of the siblings stepped forward to say something, but before anything could be said her older brother pulled her away along with the middle Trinity, not so much as a goodbye being uttered by the oldest. It was an odd encounter to say the least, but he got over it quickly, returning to the cake shop as if nothing had happened. However…even if wanted to forget about what had just happened, for some reason he couldn't help but fell some kind of dislike towards Johann. It wasn't because he was related to the people who had basically made his high school days a living hell, no, that wasn't the reason at all and he wasn't the kind of person to judge others solely on their connections to others. Since Setsuna had the habit of analyzing every person that decided to talk to him for the first time, he couldn't help but take note of the way he moved, the tone of his voice, ever small gesture he made and so on and so forth.

The younger male came to a conclusion…everything about him, from his smile to the air around him was fake. This unnerved him, only because the feeling that his live involving the siblings had yet to end. But he discarded this feeling as he rejoined the Dylandy twins, burying that awful feeling in the deepest part of his mind. Christina's apartment complex was about twenty minutes away from the station by bus, and the next available time for them to catch one (at not burn up in the sun) was about to come in the next thirty seconds…it was obvious what they did next. Thankfully the sprint wasn't that terrible, and they had about three seconds before the bus came around the corner upon arriving. Luckily for them (and his nose) there weren't that many people around, so he took this time to ask just what the twins had picked up. An assortment of slices. Well that did narrow down the possibility of someone not liking something; he knew most people were picky by nature, a fact he'd grown to learn over the years when his many birthdays would always come up.

No body ever wanted the same thing, so that made buying a cake particularly hard for his mother. But she managed to figure it out…Everyone got what they wanted when individual slices were bought, each neatly place in their own aluminum holder for easily transportation. It was the best way to cater to the needs of others without wasting anything, and the last thing that should've been wasted was _cake_. Upon boarding the bus he took out his phone, wanting to text the brunette that they were on their way in case she needed to take care of something in the house before they arrived. No matter what the time she always responded with lighting speed, always a second or two after he had pressed the 'send' button. She commented that Tieria would be coming alone, something about 'Alle and Halle were busy with the new apartment'. Ah, that's right…the three of them had finally moved out of the village, but the more he thought about them leaving the more concerned he became.

Tieria's parents were not the types to accept what he did easily…But he was sure they could deal with whatever came, because the three of them had gone through enough to make them strong enough to counter whatever there was to come. He must've been lost in thought because the next thing he knew his cheek was lightly pinched, the phrase '_penny for your thoughts?_' (in English) spoken to him by his husband. Sumeragi had spent three days teaching both of the twins that phrase and many others for that matter, though he wasn't quite sure if they had requested to learn '_Setsu's ass is nice'_ or if she had taught it to them as a joke. The people from his past had not been forgotten, had he did keep in touch them on a regular basis. For instance he always visited Graham every Thursday, usually to have an uninteresting conversation about what was going on in his life, his art, and his otaku world.

His ex-landlord was visited every Monday and if nothing was going on Wednesday. As always she was motherly, treating him more like a child than anything else. The youngest didn't mind it _too_ much since he knew she was only teasing him, so he allowed it to happen. Sumeragi always told him about her childhood in the states, about how she had attended school a well known privet school and had practically hated it. According to her the uniforms were god-awful, the teachers seemingly didn't care about the students, and everyone just seemed to have a stuck-up air about them. That sounded horrible…to be confined in an educational institute for months, unable to leave unless it was break made a cold shiver go down the younger male's spine. He could barely stand the hours he had to attend in the past, so Setsuna was sure actually living there would break him without a doubt. It was, however, nice to hear someone else talk about how horrible their school was, because he wanted to make sure that he wasn't a rare case.

Shaking his head slightly he replied that he was only thinking about the others, and that he was wondering if they could visit them in their new apartment sometime soon. Upon hearing this the older male hugged him tightly, calling him a 'thoughtful person' as he rubbed his cheek against his. Pinching it like always he sighed, knowing that their public displays of affections were alright…just not at _that_ moment. Time really did seem to fly as they bus rolled on, but it probably had something to do with the very short twenty minutes that they were actually there. After actually leaving the vehicle the three of them only needed to walk across the street, the hard part already out of the way. Since Christina lived on the fifth floor all they had to do was take elevator up, which was apparently much more spacious than he thought it would've been.

In their old apartment there really wasn't any need for an elevator, seeing as how the top floor was the third floor. But the brunette's building was much taller, going all the way up to ten stories and just looking up from the outside would make one dizzy. It didn't take long for them to reach the right floor and with a little navigation the managed to find the right door. After thinking about it for a little while he finally realized that he was making quite the big step; it would mark the first time he'd visited someone who had not lived in the village at some point, let alone someone he had known for most of his life. That was slightly nerve-racking…but he was meeting a friend and not someone new so he got over it pretty quickly. He knocked twice before waiting, a pang of excitement hitting him upon hearing a sound from the other side. There were a few more noises, and if he had to guess it was probably of her bumping into things, though as to why she was so surprised he wasn't sure.

Once the door was open everything was made clear, and if the brush still in her hair didn't say anything he wasn't sure what else would. Christina invited them in, laughing in embarrassment as she told them the directions to her room. Apparently she had a little more getting ready to do, so of course they didn't mind waiting. The apartment was nice, and the first thing he noticed was how much space there was compared to their roomless one. In total there were two bedrooms, one belonging to the brunette and the other belonging to her parents. There was a nice kitchen and dinning area, and to even compare them to the one in their old apartment almost seemed unfair. There was only one bathroom, but instead of just the bare minimums it was equipped everything their own bathroom wasn't, namely a shower and sufficient storage area for toiletries.

He couldn't help but marvel at it since it was so, well…_different_. It was by no means the fanciest apartment in Japan, but it was still so nice.

When the door to Christina's room was opened they found the other Shibuya girl tapping away at a game controller, eyes completely fixated on the screen. She did, however, acknowledge their presence by given him a small 'oi', but never once did she look away from the screen. For the next five minutes she would only give simple responses, Lockon and Lyle doing most of the asking since they had no idea what she was play. The younger male did…it was a tactical role-playing game, and one of the harder ones on the market at the time. The anime-ish 2-D graphics might've been misleading, but if one did not have a good tactical mind they wouldn't get very far in the game. Apparently Feldt had…by just watching her he could see just how calculating she was, how every move she made with he little troops was not wasted and did indeed have a purpose.

It was pretty damn impressive. The younger male was so into it that he had neglected to inspect the brunette's room upon first arriving, but when he actually managed to pry his eyes away from the TV screen for more than a second he finally noticed just how much he had missed. There were books everywhere, on the floor, her desk, and bed. They were pretty much all manga, and a few of them he really couldn't look at, in fear that he would end up getting embarrassed and thus show off a blush that would obviously be noticed by someone. On her walls were posters and what looked like magazine pictures, something she had told him she did, but upon finally witnessing them in person he couldn't help but stare. There were just…so many of them, and from the looks of things she had a wall dedicated to each genre she liked. Then there was the cloth and fabric…

Yes, cloth and fabric…there were rolls of it sticking out of her closet, not to mention some propped up against a few of the corners. He had been told that she did make her own clothes on occasion, but he couldn't help but wonder if that also extended to cosplay…To make things easily he merely asked Feldt, who gave him the rather cryptic answer of 'just wait'. Not sure how to response to such a answer he just sat, wondering if she meant to just wait until Christina came back or until she was done (which looked like it'd take a while). At the time he just found cosplay to be a strange thing, though he wasn't sure why…maybe the idea of dressing up as a characters he'd known for a long time just didn't sit well with him. But then again he did dress up for Halloween, so why was dressing up as an anime character any different?

Maybe it was the fact that so many people expected the person in question to embody the character they were dressed as, not all the time, but it was expected. The younger male wasn't sure if he'd be able to commit to such a task, so instead of attempting he just decided to just ignore it. It took the brunette about fifteen minutes to come back, a small apology given to the three of them upon her return. It was accepted and the cake slices were handed over, it being probably the only thing that had managed to get the smaller female away from the screen for a short amount of time. She had a sweet tooth, everyone knew it, which also made the whole 'buying something sugary' thing completely worth it. When a small table was rolled out from Christina's closet, he finally remembered and asked if she had ever cosplayed (or frequented Harajuku on Sunday).

Setsuna was given a very chipper 'yes!', but the 'you should try it' caught him completely by surprise. There wasn't much time for protest since he was immediately pulled up by the hands, the brunette asking Feldt if she could find the measuring tape. But they were stopped by Lyle of all people…who told them the younger male's EXACT measurements off of the top of his head. Needless to say both the Setsuna and his husband couldn't help but give him a look, a mix of what the fuck-ness and pure shock. How the hell did he even know that? But as much as he wanted to attack him, the fact that he was a guest and the sheer astonishment of it all prevented him from doing so. It did take him some time to get over everything, all the while he heard Lockon sigh heavily and told the two girls his own measurements.

And that was it…

There was no more talk about cosplay while they were there, as if the topic had never existed in the first place. The younger male really didn't mind this, though he did find it a little suspicious since no one asked for measurements for the sheer hell of it. But he let it go, knowing full well that if he did it was going to come back and bite him in the ass. By the time Tieria came the cake had just been distributed, Feldt somehow finding a way to still play her game while sitting at the table (she was sitting the furthest away from screen). The second youngest looked so worn out, and if he had to guess it probably had something to do with all the moving he had done. It was a hard thing, moving that was, not only because of the heavily lifting but because of the adjustment one needed to make to a new surrounding. He could easily sympathize with his slightly older friend, seeing as how he had one hell of a hard time adjusting to something new.

The cake was consumed in no time, and once it was completely gone he was invited to play a few games with the smaller female. They were all fighting games, and he did fair rather well against her (much better than both his husband and Lyle), though of course that didn't mean he'd actually won any of the fights he fought. But he was sure the main reason he was losing so horribly was because he was distracted slightly; from the corner of his eye he could see Christina and the second youngest talking about something as they looked at what looked like pictures. His suspicious from before only grew, but he had no time to investigate since the sound of defeat always brought him back to what he was doing. So he ignored it _again_, pushing it back to the furthest part of his mind where he knew it wouldn't nag at him so much. Things were switched off, Tieria playing with Feldt while he and the Dylandy twins interacted with the brunette.

Setsuna soon found out just what the second youngest was looking at with Christina, and he was pleasantly surprised that they were all of the same thing. They were photographs of anime conventions. Apparently she had been to quite a few of them over the years, and seeing as how she was cosplaying in every single picture he couldn't help but be impressed. Her craftsmanship was undoubtedly good, since it wasn't hard at all to tell which character she was dressed as.

It was then his foolishness kicked in…He should've noticed the look on the taller girl's face when he said 'I wouldn't mind cosplaying one of these days', and he really should've noticed the small sound Tieria made while playing against the other female. Setsuna was so goddamn oblivious to the things around him, and upon thinking about on it he should've mentally kicked himself the moment he answered the door to his apartment two months later. It was completely unexpected to find Christina standing at the door, a big smile on her face as she carried what looked like garment bags. Three of them…that wasn't good. When he asked just what she had come there for, he was stopped dead in his tracked, the brunette replying that he 'needed to hurry so they could catch the next train'. Where…the _hell_…were they supposed be going?

Needless to say he was confused. He was given an explanation after he was sure she noticed the 'what are you talking about?' look in his face, and even though it was long he managed to get the important details out of it. Apparently he was going to an anime convention in Tokyo. This was seriously news to him, and he really felt like taking it as a joke and closing the door. But he didn't…Instead he calmly explained that he did not remember making any kind of arrangement to go to a convention, to which he was apparently proven wrong when his own statement came back to bite him in the ass. _I wouldn't mind cosplaying one of these days_…he remembered it instantly as it rolled off of Christina's tongue, it sounding so god-awful in the process. Of course he meant it…just not that goddamn soon! Seeing as how it was so sudden of course he declined to going, adding that he'd probably go another time (when he was given notice at least a month ahead).

And then she gave him _that_ look…that sad look that he'd seen on stray animals that made his heart feel like it wanted to explode. That wasn't fair dammit! His husband had used that same look on him plenty of time, and even though it wasn't as intense it was still affective. His breaking point was when she gave him a small 'but I spent so much time of them', because he knew it would've been just down right rude to refuse something she worked so hard on. So with a groan he told her to relinquish the garment bags she had brought along with her, still feeling a little uneasy about the whole situation. When they were handed over to him, Setsuna couldn't help but ask just what characters they were going to be cosplaying as…but all he received was a loud 'you'll see!'. That was never a good sign…Pushing the two of the bags into the arms of Lockon and Lyle, and told them to leave the room. The confused looks on their looks said a lot, but that didn't stop him from scaring them out of the room.

There was no way in _hell_ he was changing with them in the room.

Unzipping the bag he instantly knew what character he'd be playing, and he had to wonder briefly just what characters the twins could be going as. Kyoya Hibari was the character and the series he belonged to was called _Katekyo Hitman Reborn__._ The basic premise of the manga was that a boy reluctantly becomes the tenth boss a mafia family called Vongola…and by 'reluctantly' Setsuna meant that the kid just flat out refused, though it wasn't like he had much say in the matter. The whole story revolved around him going from a loser to a badass, the bizarre characters that helped keep the story going and the plot twists that always seemed to be around the corner. All in all…it was a very shonen manga.

The younger male was supposed to be cosplaying as a sixteen-year old middle school student who was the head of the 'Disciplinary Committee', not to mention anti-social. His character was violent without a doubt, his trademark saying being 'I'll bite you to death', which never actually occurred but that did not make it any less threatening. Hibari's (which most people called him) main weapons were a pair of tonfas, which apparently Christina had provided for him…fake of course, probably made of Styrofoam or plastic. Because he would be going as a middle school student his costume was mostly just a school uniform, but what made it different was just _how_ he wore it. The mostly black uniform, except for the white dress shirt underneath, the inside of the blazer and red tie, was slipped on, the younger male finding it rather comfortable. And then the jacket came…because he knew the character he didn't slip it on with the rest of his outfit, oh no, the jet black blazer with the arm band that said 'Disciplinary Committee' on it was simply placed over his shoulders.

Setsuna was now Kyoya Hibari…at least in appearance. He probably should've attempted to straighten his hair, but it wasn't like he had the time or instrument to actually perform the act. Looking at the door the younger knew that there was no way he could weasel his way out of the situation at that point, so he let out a long sigh, picked up his fake tonfas and left the apartment. Upon not seeing anyone waiting in the hallway, he knew they were probably outside…and it felt like the longest walk he'd ever taken to get the front of the apartment. It was nerve-racking, so much so that he felt like running back to the apartment and locking the door…though it wasn't like he could really lock the twins out since they had their own key. There was no turning back…so as he slipped on his shoes at the entrance the younger male tried to fathom just what he was getting himself into.

Once outside he finally saw just who his husband and Lyle were cosplaying as…and he was pretty sure Christina had set everything up. They were cosplaying as the same character, and of course they were from the same series as he was. Dino was the name of the character, another mafia boss who was head of the Cavallone family and started off much like the main character until he was taught how to actually be a boss. Knowing that much information would've been enough…but no, the brunette just happened to take it a little further. Dino had trained Hibari to become a stronger fighter in the actual manga; however, the _Hitman _fandom had paired them up, thus making them one of the more popular pairings. She did it on purpose…and now he was going to get enough more unwanted attention than he actually wanted.

The Cavallone family head wore nothing more than a down coat, t-shirt and jean…but that wasn't what bothered the younger male. It was the bullwhip…yes, _bullwhip_, it was Dino's main weapon and if either of them so much as cracked it at him they were dead. The four of them left for the train station, Christina telling them that Feldt was already in Akihabara getting their tickets. All the while he was holding onto the bottom part of his husband's jacket, because the only thing he could do during the hour and half it would take them to reach Tokyo was get himself together. The reason he hadn't attended a convention of any kind was because of the amount of people that he knew were going to be there. He still hated crowds at the time, and the more he thought about what was to come the more his stomach began to churn. There would be so many people…their bodies would be rubbing up against him most of the time, and then there was the thought that he might become separate from the others, lost in a sea of unfamiliar faces.

He had to cover his mouth momentarily as he thought about these scenarios, thought about the worst possible thing that could happen to him once they arrived. But he had truly wanted to go to a convention for a while now, but there were just…too many factors that scared him. Setsuna was scared…so much so that he buried his face in the older male's shoulder, wanting to enjoy himself once they reached their destination but knew he wouldn't. He felt the other male's hand on the back of his head, his voice soft telling him that if he wanted the three of them could get off at the next stop. That sounded like such a wonderful idea, because if the three of them left the train they could've gone home. Home was a safe place…between its four walls nothing could hurt him, and nothing could touch him. But that seemed like he was being a…shut-in. The youngest didn't want to spend all of his time hiding away from the world, didn't want to let his life completely go by without experience the things he wanted to due most.

It really wasn't fair to anyone if he isolated himself, maybe in the past when he was much younger, when he didn't have friends who actually enjoyed his company…maybe than but not now. So he shook his head, telling the older male that he would be fine by the time they arrived. He really hoped he would. For the remainder of the ride he clung to his husband, his free hand being held by Lyle. The were both with him…he was going there alone…the Dylandy twins would be with him, not to mention his friends. Everything would be okay…he wasn't alone. Stop after stop he slowly managed to let go of his husband, his fear still very much there but he was slowly trying to control it. That's all he really needed to do…control himself; his mind was running wild, causing him to think of one too many 'what if-' situation that he knew deep down weren't going to happen.

The unknown scared him, but it didn't have to…the unknown didn't _need_ to exist, not if he got into his mind not what he wanted but what _would_ happen. The younger male knew it was time to focus on the positive, so he mentally made a list of all the things he was going to do and see. 1…2…3…he was getting there…4…5…6…he felt his heart rate begin to slow…7…8…he was getting somewhere. Somewhere between him naming off all of the things wanted- no, the things that _would _happen, he had managed to lose track of time. According to the overhead announcement they were only two stops away from their destination. He was going to prove to himself that he could do this, that he could walk into a crowed area without feeling ill, scared or wanting to run.

He _would_ muster up enough courage to enjoy himself.

Once the four of them had left the train, Setsuna gripped Lyle's hand momentarily before letting it go slowly. He was going to be alright…Christina lead the way, seeing as how she was the one who knew her way around and knew where the smaller female was going to be. Akihabara was packed, and even if Comiket (Comic Market) wasn't going on he was sure the streets would've been filled with people. Of course he wasn't the only person cosplaying since, well, that's what people just did when a convention came up. Because of this he didn't feel too out of place, and just by knowing that his anxiety died down just a little (but _only_ a little). He still stuck close to the twins as they walked, especially when it seemed as if the crowds began to become a little denser than before. But not did he grab either anyone's hand…Setsuna was no longer a child, and since that time had long since passed it was alright for him to work out his own problems without seeking the comfort of others.

He couldn't rely on the twins forever, because they would not and could not be there for him all the time. When they stopped he found that they were at the entrance of what looked like an electronic store, but before they could even set a foot inside they were stopped by the brunette. Apparently she had told the smaller female to meet them outside around the time of their arrival, figuring that it wouldn't take that long to convince him to come along. They were good…he hadn't known them long but they had somehow figured out just how to make him do what they wanted, which almost caused him to have a mild breakdown, but that could be forgiven.

Almost on cue Feldt walk out, dressed in what looked like a black trench coat, a patch with the name 'Varia' stitched on the right side of her chest. That would've been enough to identify the character, but the long white wig she was wearing sealed the deal. Staying in the same manga universe, the Varia were a group of assassins that worked under the Vongola family, but disliked the fact that the next head would not be their own boss…so they fought. One of the members, Superbi Squalo, was their swordsmen and was currently being cosplayed by Feldt. His character was the exact opposite of the smaller females, being that he was loud and rather prideful. But that was what cosplay was about…taking on the character that didn't necessarily fit one's own character. This was exactly why he wasn't surprised at all when they were greeted with a loud 'VOOOI!' from the Shinjuku girl, it being the character's trademark saying (meaning 'you' in Italian).

It wasn't until Feldt began to pick with the other female, calling her a 'useless swordsmen', that he noticed that she too was cosplaying. It almost looked like she wasn't, but since all of them were going as someone from the same series it took him a little while to register that fact. The brunette was going as another member of the Vongola family, and probably the most obliviously careful character in the entire manga. Takeshi Yamamoto was the easy-going, baseball-nut swordsmen of the Vongola family, but that did not mean he couldn't fair rather well against others. What made it hard to actually tell that Christina was dressed as someone else was the sheer casual-ness of the cloths she was wearing. Her character wore only a red t-shirt, white dress shirt and jeans whenever he was seen in the manga, and if it wasn't for the fake sword that was given to her by Feldt upon arrival than he would've looked like a pretty normal person.

But it was her choice to cosplay as whoever she wanted to, so that was the end of the argument. When the four of them left for the convention center Setsuna felt his chest tighten, but only for second; they were heading to the convention center, and even though his mind was telling him that he was about to be surrounded about a thousand (very sweaty) people, but his body remained calm. Obviously he was still freaking out internally, because like it or not he was not going to get over his phobia that quickly; however…he kept repeating all the things he was going to accomplish that day so that seemed to keep his body at bay. Over and over again he continually repeated the events that would surly take place:

1. Make it though the main entrance.

2. Buy doujin.

3. Take pictures of other cosplayers.

4. Have his own picture taken.

5. Buy a visual novel or two (whether it was yaoi or straight was still very much in the air).

6. Purchase a figure.

7. Purchase a _Gundam_ model (he'd kill somebody if he didn't do this).

8. Go home happy.

The youngest wanted to put aside his fears for just one day and enjoy himself…was that too much to ask for? No, it wasn't. Money wouldn't be a problem since he had been saving for quite some time, the younger male wanted to go out and spend it every year when a convention rolled around but could never actually muster up enough courage to do so. But he had finally made it…he wasn't going to turn back when his destination was right in front of him, not when the very first thing on his list staring him right in the face. The entrance to the Tokyo Big Sight convention center. It was where all of the Comiket events had been held in the past, and it would probably be where they would continue to be. The younger male had only seen it in pictures on the internet of it, but actually being there in personal was a whole other experience all together.

It was _massive_.

Upon taking a deep breath he walked forward, mind heavy with thoughts that he chose to ignore. This was his time, his day, and he was not going to run away from it. While contemplating the fact that he could not 'give up', Setsuna hardly noticed that he had finally made it inside of the building. His heart raced after noticing; he was inside…he was standing inside the building he had dreamed about (literally). In that moment he felt like crying…but that would've completely ruined the mood so he reframed from doing so. Christina acted as their map and tour guild, since according to her the layout never really changed. Just in case they bought a actual map. The younger male couldn't help but look around, admiring just how lively everything was. The booths run by both fans and companies, the posters that hung from the ceiling decorated with original characters that said 'Comiket' written in bold kanji, the event schedules poster on ever other wall, and the cosplayers who looked as if they were performing skits as their characters.

There was a lot going on, and he wasn't sure he could keep his mind focused on one thing for too long. Their first destination was the dealers' room, which would mean numbers five, six, and seven could be knocked off of his list. Buying doujin would take place elsewhere, since the convention had an entire section dedicated to the amateur artist selling their goods. He had a lot of respect for them; the mere thought of sitting in front of a small booth and sell something that was drawn by hand, something that contained graphic picture (not all of them) of preexisting characters in situation that probably wouldn't have happened in their universe made him tense up. However…none of this mattered to the doujin circles…He seriously didn't have enough confidence at that moment to even fathom doing something like that, little did he knew he'd grow out of his lack of self-belief but take on a entirely different fear about the whole doujin process. But he was getting ahead of himself.

Not even a minute passed before he was pulled in some random direction by Lockon, the look on his face easily comparable to a kid in a candy story. It was his first time as well as Lyle's at a convention, so of course they too would be excited…and the youngest couldn't help but feel happy for them. But because they were so eager Setsuna decided it was alright to hold their hands, because the last thing he wanted was to be separated. They saw any and everything they could ever want, the phrase 'oh, what's that?' becoming more and more common. They could've easily covered the entire floor within a matter of minutes (which would've been a feat in itself), but since there was an actual purpose to them being there that option was out. As soon as he saw the stand that held the computers games he froze; he was going to be buy _porn_, and the worst part was he had to decide just which one he wanted with a bunch of people staring at him! But…he said he was going to so there was no backing out.

As he walked over another horrible fact made itself known…_he was not eighteen_. The only 'adults' that were with them were the twins…and as much as he hated it the younger male knew they were the only ones who could actually make the physical purchase were the twins. God, he would never hear the end of it. Viewing the actual titles on the table was a pretty hard challenge to deal with, since a few of the covers didn't leave much to the imagination. Watching the people around him casually pick up the box made him a little nervous, seeing as how he was the only person who looked so _incredibly_ out of place. Setsuna decided to pick at least one up, to deter any foreign eyes that might've been gazing at him. He hardly noticed Christina peering over his shoulder, but did notice when she said that he had picked up a 'good one'.

Well…she did knew a lot more about visual novels than he did, so obviously she was the go-to person when it came to picking out a 'good one'. So in a small voice he asked for help, and without much hesitation the game was snatched out of his hands and replaced with three others. _Lamento: Beyond the Void_,_ Togainu no Chi _and_ Zettai Fukujuu Meirei _were placed in his hand, and according to the brunette that was all he was going to need for quite some time. He was only expecting to buy one, maybe two, not three…but if she said they were good, they must've been. Sighing a little he called over his husband, hoping he wouldn't say anything that would completely worsen the mood. He would…he so totally and completely would, the younger male knew it. So to make the situation a little better he pushed the boxes against his husband's chest along with the correct amount of money, walking away once done.

However…he was forgetting just who he was dealing with…He didn't even make that far before he heard 'we'll play it together when we get home' to which he just shouted '_SHUT UP!_' right back. Needless to say he received a lot of unwanted attention, so much so that he just stormed off without so much as another word. Who the hell said that? Let alone say that in a crowed area! He as so mad, so much so that the moment he felt someone take his wrist he quickly turned around and punched whoever it was in the stomach. Not to greatest of ides…instead of hitting his husband, who he thought had followed him, the youngest ended up hitting Lyle. He didn't even hesitate to apologize, the older male shaking his head as he told him that everything was alright. Now he felt horrible…

The younger male's head was patted, Lyle telling him that everything really was okay and that his brother meant no harm by the comment. Dammit, he knew that! He knew that…but…it was still so _embarrassing_. It took a little convincing, but the older male had finally managed to get him back to the group, calling his husband a 'pervert' before saying anything else. It took them a little while to find the right stand that sold the right size _Gundam_ model he wanted, because he understood that because he had never put one together it only made sense to find a 'starter kit'…or something like that. If they weren't figurines that came already put together, then mech models needed to be put together piece by piece. He'd heard that there could've been at least a thousand tiny pieces that needed to be extracted from their tray and placed together with glue, and then painted. He'd also heard that one needed to work with a window open, seeing as how the glue that was used could in fact be harmful if inhaled too much.

It was pretty damn hazardous, but that didn't stop him from wanting one. Of course there were a few detours, both Christina and Feldt deciding that they wanted plush toys from some manga called '_Hetalia_', something fairly knew, at least for him. It was growing in popularity, so that must've meant something…he'd probably check it out later. Lockon decided to buy a shirt that said 'will yaoi with boyfriend for free', to which he was swiftly kicked in the shin for even picking something like that up. His brother on the other hand decided to buy the second volume of a light novel called _Bakemonogatari_, the older male borrowing the first from Tieria a while ago. It would've been completely fine if Lyle had said that he liked it for the gripping story or because of its deep plot, but no…he liked it because apparently Senjogahara (one of the main heroines) was a lot like the youngest, not in circumstances but in personality.

Obviously he just stared at him, wondering where in the world he would get such a ridiculous idea from. Once all of the detours were taken care of, him purchasing a figure from the anime _Galaxy Express 999_, thus crossing off something else from his list, they finally found the right booth. There were so many of them, each ranging in size and difficulty which made it much easier to choose. Well…easier for him in his own little way to choose. The younger male took his time, picking up one box and examining it and putting it back if it wasn't something thing he wanted. This went on for a good twenty minutes before he found something that 'satisfied' him, which just happened to be a XXXG-01D Gundam Deathscythe from _Gundam Wing_. Along with it he purchased the toxic glue as well as the right colored paint, not wanting to mess up the coloring and thus ruining the entire figure.

The next hour was pretty uneventful, the group having to take a breather before doing anything else. So far he had been having a good time, even though his husband antics were getting to him quite a bit. It could've been that he was just excited, so much so that his mouth was just saying the first thing his mind thought of. That was understandable…but that didn't mean his punishment would stop. He was surrounded by such odd people, but in a place where oddities ruled they seemed to fit right in. Maybe that's what the problem was…he was too 'normal' and tried to rationalize everything he saw and everything that happened to them. What he needed to do was take them as they were, no analyzing, no over thinking, no nothing…he just needed to…what was the phrase the blonde florist liked to use…oh, '_go with the flow_'. Yeah…the younger male needed to just…go with it.

Just as the five of them were about to have thirty minutes added to their hour, they were approached by a group of girls…and all he could think of was that small 'incident' that happened during New Years. Setsuna wasn't possessive, oh no, he just didn't like it when random women on the streets began to flirt with people who were already taken. That wasn't wrong, right? He reserved any looked until after the girls had spoken, wanting to give them a chance even if it was an extremely small one. Apparently the only thing they wanted was to take a few pictures of them, which didn't seem that unexpected. Since the lighting in the building wasn't that great, they followed the small group of girls outside so that the natural sunlight would make the pictures come out better. And then he needed to pose…just what pose they wanted he was completely unsure of.

The youngest had never actually struck a pose while taking a picture, Hallelujah completely dismissing him and the picture if he ever did so. He was at a bit of a loss…but the twins weren't. The youngest was completely taken by surprise when both of his cheeks were kissed by both of the twins, a blinding flash preventing him from actually doing anything. It wasn't until he was told to 'just have fun' that he snapped out of it…and jabbed the two of them in the stomach with his tonfas. If just have fun meant 'get into character', then fine…he would. He spent the next ten minutes basically abusing the two, the group of girls loving every minute of it. The younger male was having…fun, the abuse he was delivering the Dylandy twins only being part of it. The usual attention he got from stranger was negative, but the attention he was getting at the convention was different. People were…genuinely happy to have his presence around. That made his chest tighten a little…they weren't looking at him with hate, weren't looking at him as if he was strange or out of place…he was just like everyone else.

Having that feeling really did feel different…as if he was actually accepted into some kind of society, actually wanted by a group of people who had previously shunned him. That made him happy…Once it was time to switch, the group of girls getting their pictures taken, he just snapped whatever he thought seemed like a good pose. They were getting so into it, striking very familiar poses that anyone who knew the character would know. It wasn't until they abruptly stopped, asked for the time and then quickly left that the youngest felt himself get a little confused. It was then he was told by Feldt (who got his attention with a loud 'VOI!') that the doujin section was about to close in the next hour, and seeing as how that was one of the things on his 'to-do' list they needed to hurry. Luckily their currently position was not that far away from where they needed to be, which was luck in itself seeing as how big the convention center was.

Setsuna's nerves instantly began to set in as soon as they reached the designated area, not because of the amount of people that were there (and there were A LOT of people), but because he was, once again, going to buy porn. But not just any porn…porn from the people who had actually made it, people who had spent their precious skills, money and time making something they were so goddamn proud of. He did NOT want to insult them. Walking around didn't help the younger male at all, seeing as how the wanting gazes of everyone sitting behind a booth were practically screaming 'buy something from me!'. But what to buy? He did have a few pairing he wanted in mind, but…could he really just walk up to someone and just buy something like that? He had to…he would. The brunette and the smaller female apparently had their only shopping to attend to there, so they parted ways with them, saying that they would meet back up when it was closing time.

The three of them walked around looking for something interesting, which was hard seeing has how _everything_ was interesting to him. After finding something he stopped, almost hesitantly, but he stopped. As he picked up one of the books from the stand he had stopped at, he couldn't help but notice how nervous the person selling looked, which was completely logical. If someone was standing right in front of him basically judging his work, he'd probably have his nerves on high alert as well. Flipping through a few pages he found that the artwork was rather nice, and since he was sure standing and reading was out of the question he merely paid and left. He continued this for a good while, running into the Shinjuku girls a few times. It wasn't so bad…he even managed to talk to a few of the artist, them commenting that it sometimes wasn't all that hard to draw what they wanted. They were all pretty interesting, a few strange, but still interesting.

By the time closing time had come around he had purchased twenty doujins, five key chains, three bookmarks, two dating-sims and one very nice art book. All in all it was a pretty nice haul. By the time they decided to head back to train station it was pretty late, around ten at night, and because exhaustion had finally set in Setsuna had to hitch a ride on his husband's back. He somehow managed to go in and out of consciousness every so often, knowing that he had at some point said goodbye to the Shinjuku duo, but could not for the life of him remember getting off the train, the walk back to the apartment or him falling asleep on his futon. But he did remember one thing…he remember the feeling he had upon leaving, the warm, oh-so welcome feeling that made itself known throughout his entire body.

He was…happy.

"Please, Setsu! We always cosplay, so we might as well try something different!"

Goddamn, were they ever going to drop it? Currently he was in his apartment, Christina, Feldt and Tieria trying their best to convince him just why writing a doujin was better than cosplaying for what seemed like the hundredth time. Truth be told he really didn't object to the idea, finding it a good way to make some kind of income other than with the job he had. What he did, however, object to was the whole 'him drawing it' thing…both the small female and the brunette had a very nice style of their own, so _why_ did they constantly want _him_ to draw yaoi? Was it because he was one of the assistants to a not-so-famous manga author? Or maybe it was because they just wanted everyone they knew in their little 'otaku clique' to participate…but Setsuna was sure it was the first option.

"You sound like a dog begging, it's very unbecoming." The younger male said in a rather blunt tone as he rubbed the back of his head, yawning. It was supposed to be his day off from school and work, which was probably why they decided to come barging over and once again ask him to make a decision.

He had gotten use to it though, the sometimes unannounced visits from his friends, the otaku ramblings, and the constant begging. It was the norm for him, and he was sure if someone else had his life they'd probably end up losing their minds. But because his life had been filled with so many oddities his perception of what was 'normal' had been slightly skewed, one side-effect being his calm and collective attitude in the face of something that others deemed 'strange'.

"Nya, nya, beg like a cat then…" Feldt said as she held her hands up to the top of her head, moving them like cat ears. To someone else that would've been beyond out there, but to him it was just everyday life.

The three of them continued on, giving him all of the pros of the situation without mentioning any of the cons. The younger male knew very well what the cons were…and one just happened to stick out the most to him. It was one that only he knew of, and it was so goddamn embarrassing that he knew it would've been best to keep it to himself. For some reason every time he decided to draw something deemed 'erotic' he would have extremely dirty thoughts that dealt with the Dylandy twins, usually resulting in him spending a good while in the bathroom just trying to rid himself of the images. There was no way in hell he was telling his friends or either of the twins for that matter that his own pictures were horribly turning him on, so to deal with the problem he decided to refuse the request of doing anything doujin related.

It was unfair, yes, but it was the only logical thing his completely hormone driven mind could think up. Sighing a little he interrupted them in mid sentence, saying that it was about time to replenish their supply of snacks. Once in the kitchen he found Amy drawing pictures with Lockon, something that was a common occurrence in the apartment every Sunday around the afternoon. She was dropped off in the morning around eight, her mother usually giving them the same instructions each time and of course the three of them just nodded and smiled. The youngest Dylandy was picked up around eight, usually half-cocked or completely knocked out, either her mother or father usually taking her home.

The younger male got along well with Amy, and without a doubt she was the spitting image of her older brothers. Well…if they were girls that was. She had an extremely sweet disposition, and even if she did get mad sometimes (for instance not getting the sweets she wanted), she quickly got over it and moved on to something else. She did, however, share one trait with her brothers…Amy was clingy. Whenever she got the chance she'd cling onto him, and even if it was welcome it was a bit odd when she decided to latch onto his leg when he decided to walk. To him it was like monkey holding onto a tree, arms and legs completely wrapped around his leg, but she did seem to enjoy it so there wasn't much he could do about it.

"Tsuna Onii-chan! Look! Look! I drew a dog!" Amy said, holding up a sheet of paper that held her scribbles on it.

"It looks really nice, you did a good job." He said with a slight smile, patter her in the head as he did so. Of course because of his praise she was happy, so 'happy Amy' decided to hug him around the neck. The youngest Dylandy wasn't going to let go any time soon, Setsuna knew this, so he merely picked her up and took her with him.

It wasn't like he was going far, just to refill the tray of homemade cookies he had made prior to his friends visiting. Like always he had made one too many, meaning quite a few of them would be sent home with the others. As he handed one to Amy he was quickly told by his husband he wasn't supposed to give her too many, to which he was given an 'I know, Mommy'. Lockon really did act like an overprotective mother whenever his little sister came over, which was reasonable seeing as how she was rather young. The younger male and Lyle did spoil her on occasion, the biggest offender probably being him. Setsuna didn't mean to, in fact most of it he was completely unaware of until told, which usually came as a shock to him. How was he supposed to know that buying something that a kid wanted was spoiling? He thought that was him just being nice…of course maybe it was a little overkill going to several different stores.

"Oi, Amy…" The younger male started, getting the younger Dylandy sibling's attention, "Should I draw pictures this summer, or dress up?"

"Hm…I like it when everyone dressed up! But…I like it Onii-chan draws, so…"

"Should I do both…?"

"Yes!"

That didn't take long, like many of the other decisions he asked her to make. She was his main good-to person when it came to making decisions like that because, well, the youngest Dylandy had no idea what his otaku world was like. Amy was an objective viewer; she didn't know him as an 'otaku' she only knew him for dressing up in 'cute outfits' or drawing 'cute pictures'. But if she said she wanted him to, then…he really had no choice. Placing her down he took the tray back into the living room, the young girl holding onto his pant leg as she followed.

"Amy said we should do both…" Setsuna said as he placed the tray down on the small table, stopping whatever it was the others had wanted to say.

"Both?" The three of them said in unison, either completely shocked that he had finally come to a final verdict, or that he had actually suggested both options.

"Well…if we split into teams of two, it can be done." Tieria muttered as he began to count on his fingers, probably the cost of everything which would obviously be more than they actually wanted to spend…but sometimes one needed to sacrifice for one's fandom.

They spent the next hour and a half trying to figure out just what anime they would be doing, how much the printing and fabric would cost, and the likelihood of them getting in. It was a lot to think about all at once, but they managed to get the foundation down. They would make something from the series _Axis Powers Hetalia _(something he finally checked out and decided he liked), which basically used anthropomorphic characters (a good portion of them male) based off of countries that explored certain historical events around the world…which usually ended up being rather humorous. The pairing would be Greece and Japan, mainly because it was implied that the two had 'done it' and the fact that Feldt thought it was 'cute'. The page count would be around thirty, which was pretty normal for a doujin, and there would be at least two color pages because it would make the book 'eye-catching'.

Just who would be going as who had not been decided, and maybe that could've been saved for another get together. By the time they had finished the sun had began to set, meaning that his visitors had to head home. The second youngest in particular since he had gotten into the habit of 'helping' Allelujah with dinner, and even though he had gotten better over the years he still needed a lot of work. It was a bit strange, his cooking that was, and even though the youngest had only tried it a few times the taste did not always reflect what was actually on the plate. The 'elder' Haptism said that if one held their nose it really didn't taste like much, though of course that was if there actually was any flavor at all to the dish.

Once gone Setsuna practically collapsed on the couch, feeling so out of it that he just wanted to sleep…which he obviously couldn't seeing has how he still had so much to do. Dinner needed to be cooked, and even if he allowed both Lyle and Lockon to cook he was always in the kitchen and never took his eyes off of them. Amy found it rather amusing when they messed something up…not finding it so amusing when she actually had to eat what they cooked. It was also important make dinner before it became too late because Lyle had to work every night, and so that he did not go to work on an empty stomach cooking was the obvious option. His work hours were a lot to deal with, seeing as how he didn't have to leave until eleven and didn't come back until _six in the morning_. It did work out sometimes since the younger male only had to work two days out of the week, meaning he could spend practically all day with the older male.

The youngest was paid to draw whatever the manga artist he worked for wanted, and because it was a usually a monthly magazine they were writing for certain expectations were supposed to be kept. Since it was pretty much a whole month between releases the quality of work was apparently supposed to be better than chapter released on a weekly basis, so of course not only did he have to keep the quality of his own but make sure the other assistance did the same. For some reason he was appointed the 'head assistant' of the group he was currently working with, and it probably had something to do with the fact that he was the first person to arrive more than the fact that he was talented. It was a bit strange since the other people he had worked for had never done that before, but like always he adapted fairly quickly. Meeting new assistants was an interesting thing, but there was one he tried his best to stay away from. Johann Trinity was apparently in the same business as him…and the youngest tried his hardest to avoid him.

He had only worked with him once, and even that was too much. The other must've thought Setsuna was single or had neglected whatever his siblings had told him in the past, because he swore every time the two of them were together it felt as if he was flirting with him. During their work hours he was only verbally flirtatious, asking about his interests, if he was doing anything that evening or if he hand any plans for the rest of the week. The younger male merely answered with 'classified', clearly not wanting to talk about anything other than work. It only became physical when they left, the oldest Trinity usually rubbing his back or neck or touching his arm in a way that was just not normal. But the youngest always dealt with it, his usual method being to bend one of the other male's fingers back and tell him to 'back off if he wanted to keep all of his limbs'.

Apparently he was a masochist as well, since the much older male would laugh whenever he was given any sort of pain. He thought he was joking…Setsuna never joked with him and had no reason to. It became a bit more extreme on the last day when he decided to follow him to the train station; the younger male wasn't stupid, he knew when someone was following him and because of this he deliberately missed his stop to throw the oldest Trinity off. He made sure that his outward appearance didn't change, not wanting to tip the other male off that he had missed his correct destination. It was quite a while before he felt his presence disappear, and by that time it had become rather late. Luckily for the younger male there was one last train running, and the only thing he had to deal with was explaining just why he was so late to the twins.

Since he had control over the situation there was no point in him telling the truth to them.

Getting up, he made his way into the kitchen, making a mental note that he needed to go shopping sometimes within the next few days. When he felt an arm snake itself around his wait, the younger male sighed heavily, wanting to at least start cooking before any part of his body was assaulted. The hand that was attached to it moved up, underneath his shirt as it began to caress his chest. Turning his head to the side slightly he was kissed, a kiss that told him that the older male really wanted to do something right at that moment.

"It sounds like you're going to be pretty busy from now on…" His husband said upon parting, lips now barely touching the skin on his neck, "But you looked excited."

"Really…" The younger male inquired, noticing that hand was now making its way downward. He'd been holding it in all day, Setsuna knew this for a fact, because the older male did not like being too affectionate when his sister was around. At least he had finally learned that not everything was appropriate for others to see…too bad it had taken him so long to learn.

"Where's-"

"Amy's playing with Lyle in his room, so we're alone."

"Ah…no."

"But- !"

"When she leaves."

And that was that. Pushing the older male away, he immediately switched back over into 'housework mode', completely ignoring whatever his husband had to say. Seriously, he could wait a few more hours to get laid…if not there was a reason locks were invented for doors.

"You're so mean, Setsu…"

"I know."


	22. The Crappy Day Chapter

His body was hot, so much so that he was sure he'd melt right into the mattress below him. In the past sex was never something he thought a lot about, mainly because he had been told in the past that the only form of 'intercourse' he'd ever engage in would be between him and his cousin. It disgusted him to no end, not because they were related but because he hated him with such a passion. Even though the two of them had never actually done it, just having that man's hands touching his body was too much…so much so that he seriously contemplated murder a few times. Tieria just wanted Ribbons gone, and even if it meant he'd end up in jail it would be worth it.

But something better happened…the second youngest fell in love, moved away and had lost his virginity to a set of people who had no relation to him what so ever. _That_ was probably the best revenge he could ever get on his relatives. He was happy, and even if the threat of retaliation was still very much there he would deal with the problem when it came up. At the moment the last thing he wanted to think about were his past family issues, so instead he focused on what was happening to him since it was a much more pleasurable situation. That week had been pretty interesting to say the least, and the rain at the beginning of it should've told him that.

It was a pretty well known fact around his small circle of friends that whenever it rained something unexpected, outlandish, or absolutely horrible would occur. Case in point when Setsuna almost drowned saving that damn cat that belonged to the 'elder' Haptism (something he learned years after the fact), or when one of his favorite yukata was dragged through the mud by that damn cat, it somehow managing to get into the Haptism's house and get everything it touched filthy. Needless to say he along with Allelujah and Hallelujah cleaned up the mess, since it was apparently '_their_ cat' according to Lilith. The second youngest wanted nothing to do with that feline…and the feeling was mutual. One scratch was enough to tell him that that thing didn't like him being near it, so the two of them respected one another's space. It might've been a cute kitten in the beginning, but it had grown up to be one hell of an evil cat. He wasn't even sure why it decided to stick around after growing up…maybe it had some kind of attraction to people with pissy attitudes.

That Sunday Setsuna had finally decided (with a hell of a lot of persuasion) that making a doujin wasn't that bad of an idea, but what really shocked everyone was his add-on to cosplay. Now the second youngest didn't have a problem with cosplaying, in fact he actually enjoyed dressing up since the outfits were usually very comfortable. There were only two problems with that add-on (for him anyway)…the first being that Christina had gotten into the habit of dressing him up as a girl. Yes, he knew his body was slightly more feminine qualities than a normal male body should, and there were times when Lilith liked to take him out shopping for 'girl' clothes…but what the hell! It was annoying being ogled, especially by a bunch of fanboys who looked much older than they possibly were. It was just weird…but what made up for it was when the 'younger' Haptism called him cute. And then there were the photos they took together, the ones were he'd hold him close (they were playing a couple, so that gave them the excuse to do so in public) and make him blush horribly. That was the minor problem…

Then the major one kicked in…and of course it dealt with Hallelujah. For some reason the bastard got into the habit of flipping his skirt or dress up whenever he had the chance, saying that it was a 'bad reflex' of his. Like hell it was! He wouldn't keep his hands to himself, which would usually result in the two of them fighting until broken up. It was so goddamn annoying, but if it was to promote the doujin that was supposed to be made then he could bare with it…kicking the slightly older male in the crotch if and when he went too far (because he _so_ would). Maybe that was just his way of showing affection outside of the apartment complex…since he seriously didn't do it often. When the 'elder' Haptism actually would show some kind of affection towards him in public that he himself had initiated (usually holding his hand), he would always turn his head away, as if trying to hide something.

Oh yes…he was hiding something, but his own pride refused to allow the world to see it. It was a bit funny having actually found something cute about Hallelujah, since he was, truly and utterly, not a 'cute' person by default. His brother on the other hand was sweet, and had actually been so since the two of them were young. Polar opposites, that's what they were, and to say that he had not known this when younger would be an absolute lie. It would also be a lie is he said that the 'elder' Haptism hadn't grown on him after so many years, and even if all of his teasing and snarky remarks still got to him the tone they had taken on had changed. If he said 'why the hell do you smell like that?' to the slightly younger male after a bath, it just meant 'I like the new shampoo you used, it smells nice'. The list went on from there, and even if it took Tieria a little while to figure it out it did come off as a little…cute.

God that word still didn't fit him…

On his way home he couldn't help but notice the sudden change in the wind, meaning that the very next day it would be pouring. It was a shame since he would probably send all of his time outside, looking for some kind of job. Because he didn't have one he really felt like a leech, feeding off of the Haptism's without actually contributing anything at all. It just didn't seem fair to either of them…but for some reason he just could not find a job that suited him. Sad was probably the best word to describe his situation, he knew it, and he really could blame all of it on his sheltered life of the past. He really didn't know just what he was good at, his being lacking that certain 'specialness' that others had. Everything he was actually 'good' at was forced upon him, and he really had no intention of pursuing a career that reminded him of his ex-home.

It didn't take him long to get back to his apartment complex, about an hour, and if he didn't fell asleep he always texted Allelujah and Hallelujah when he was a few stops away. The 'younger' Haptism usually waited for him at the train station, the two of them always walking close to the other, his hand embracing the other male's. He wasn't as hesitant when it came to public affections as his brother, so much so that he would actually allow the slightly younger male to see him blush. He was the one who outright told him that he loved him on a daily basis, not excessively, but enough to get his point across. The second youngest really did like to cling to him, and maybe that was a little much but he just couldn't help himself. The older male's lap was amazingly soft, and he had to wonder briefly if his own lap felt the same. The slightly younger male didn't complain about it, so maybe that was the reason he liked to spend so much time there.

There was also that whole 'you look good from this angle' comment he made a while back that had something to do with it, but he choose to ignore it since it made his cheeks heat up. When he had enough free time Allelujah could be quite romantic if he wanted, though that wasn't to say that the other Haptism couldn't be romantic at times…he just had a rather strange way of doing so. Much like his way of speaking his actions always had some kind of meaning behind it, but as always it originally came off as him acting like an ass. He was strange creature, that much was true, but it probably had to do with the fact that he had never really been an affectionate person from the start. When younger he hated when people hugged him or patted him on the head, while on the other hand he refused to touch anyone outside of hitting someone. It was just…who he was according to his mother. It was strange to say the least, but it was that quirkiness that drew the second youngest to him.

The train always came on time, but because it was a Sunday afternoon it was packed. No matter what the time of the day the streets were always filled, and maybe it was because of his village spoiling but he just did not understand why people spent so much time around a city after twelve at night. He had only walked around the city in the middle of the night a few times, the 'elder' Haptism saying that he 'couldn't sleep' and needed someone to go with him. They did have pills for that! But in the end he really didn't mind it, seeing as how it was his first time actually roaming around any kind of street aimlessly in the middle of the night. During his high school days Tieria would always over heard other students talking about their late night escapades, never really understanding just why it was so much fun to hang out in the middle of the night. Sure he took trips to the Haptism's house well passes twelve, and did on occasion walk around the village at ungodly hours just to get some fresh air.

But that was different…the village was quiet at night, and truth be told it would've been rare to see more than two people walking around. The city was loud compared to the small village, and there were always people around, always some kind of shop open and always, _always_ something to do. During those times when he and the 'elder' Haptism would wander around the city, he would always hold his hand, saying that it was for 'protection'. From what? High school girls looking for a date. Apparently a few of them liked to prowl the streets looking for a boyfriend, or better yet, a 'friend with benefits'. It was strange, but it was their business what they did with their time and their bodies. The city was bright all the time, the air smelling of street food and moderately priced alcohol from the many bars that were open. It was intoxicating at times. Hallelujah was a night person, which was probably why he always seemed a lot more 'energetic' when the sun set. He also seemed a hell of a lot nicer too, tolerating 'stupid questions' such as 'was this a date?'

He had to ask often since the slightly older male always acted spontaneously, thoughts and actions so completely unpredictable that it was probably best to just go with the flow when with him. It was annoying at worst while rather enjoyable at best, so just leaving the apartment with him was an adventure in itself. Fun was the best way to describe it.

Tieria didn't manage to find a seat on the train, so that meant standing either until one became available or forgetting about the whole thing focus on something else. There was only one thing that he had to deal with when standing on the train, and it was a problem he never once thought about until he rode the train for the first time. He never thought much about his looks nor did he think about that fact that because of those looks he needed to be careful; his femininity in the past only gave him letters in his shoes locker and confessions from people he'd never actually talked to before, but as he grew up the second youngest began to notice that more and more people began looking at him. Ignoring the wandering eyes of others was the best thing he could do, and it usually worked…usually. It really didn't bother him until he felt someone…_touching_ him on the train.

At first he thought it was merely an accident, seeing as how the train car was pretty crowed. But once the hand on his rear-end began to move, there was no mistaking that he was being felt up. The first thing he did was tense up, confusing preventing him from actually doing anything. Once his mind finally snapped back into working condition he quickly turned around and slapped the person in question. How could someone do something like that? Obviously after leaving the train he was shaken, and just to calm himself down he had to tell the Haptism twins what had happened. Allelujah comforted him (in a tone that suggested he wanted to kill someone…which was rare) while his brother spent a good ten minutes going on about how he would 'kill the bastard who had done it'. All of it managed to make him feel better, but it didn't fix his problem.

But because he was not a shy person at all the best thing for him to do was just deal with the problem, and by 'deal' he meant turning around and hitting the shit out of whoever was touching him. Luckily that day he was completely unharmed, which was a good thing because he was quite tired from the heat outside. Unfortunately there was no one waiting for him, which he didn't mind, but it meant the walk home would be a silent one. Or so he thought; about half way home, just as he was about to turn the corner where the _convenience store_ was located someone slammed into him, causing both him and whoever the hell it was so come crashing to the ground. By the long string of curses and the completely disheveled hair he knew who it was. The 'elder' Haptism looked a mess, as if he had just gotten out of bed and thrown some clothes on.

That was apparently the case. According to him he had wanted to meet him at the train station, but had unfortunately fallen asleep due to being up half the night scrambling to get his photos in order. After he had gotten up he helped the slightly younger male to his feet, a (very) small apology given in the process. The two of them began to walk back home, and to make things a little more interesting he brushed his hand against the slightly older male's. Now he obviously expected Hallelujah to tense up slightly, his usually routine being to look away, mumble something and then take his hand slowly. That didn't happen. Instead his hand was just taken, no lead up or warning ever made or even attempted. It was strange…but not as strange as when the other male asked if there was a problem. He quickly shook his head, muttering that there was 'nothing to worry about'. That tone…the one that the 'elder' Haptism had just used always got to him, always made him want melt right there on the spot.

He wasn't exactly sure why whenever the twins became or said something a bit on the serious side, he'd get worked up. Maybe it was because he never really saw that side of them too often, and thus made his heart ping whenever it occurred. Of course there was a difference between Hallelujah being 'camera serious' and Hallelujah being 'serious, serious'. When he was 'camera serious' his lapsed into his own little world of completely concentration, and anyone be damned if they disturbed him. 'Serious, serious' Hallelujah was not one to be trifled with, because he would, in fact, try to bite the head off of anyone within an ten foot radius of him (he'd probably literally try to if he could). But there was one more serious side, one he shared with his brother that didn't actually required either of them to be in a pissed off mood.

It was probably best to described it as a 'thoughtful seriousness', since they always seemed to have something on their mind whenever they made such a face. The two of them were probably thinking about him, since they would always comment that 'nothing' was on their mind once snapped out of their trance. The second youngest always knew they were thinking about him…about how horribly naïve he was when it came to the workings of the world. He hated troubling them so, but no matter what he told them they would.

Once the two of them had made it back to the apartment the sound of classical music was the first thing he heard, and that instantly told him that the 'elder' Haptism would be staying for a little while. Whenever that sound filled the air it meant Allelujah was studying, meaning that disturbing him was out of the question. Well…it wasn't like he actually said 'don't disturb me', Tieria just _assumed_ that he didn't want to be. There were a few times when he actually did 'disturb' and he really didn't seem to mind, in fact he actually invited him to stay. The two of them didn't talk about much, but all the while the second youngest couldn't help but think that he was just being a distraction. Even if he was continuously told that he wasn't, the thought always loomed, always found its way to the front of his mind. He really did want the 'younger' Haptism to do well with his chosen profession, so the only thing that he could actually do to help was stay out of his way.

It was pretty common knowledge that when that music was on the only thing that could shake the slightly older male from his concentration was something hitting the ground rather hard, and because Hallelujah also know this he took advantage of it. It was strange getting screwed to classical music, though it wasn't like he had much time to focus on something like that. But that day was different; instead of being pushed down on the couch and roughly fucked (he was really, _really_ rough…but not enough to _really_ hurt) a hand was extended to him as the slightly older male stood, the expression on his face easily read 'hurry the hell up'. Tieria just looked at it for a moment, wondering just what the hell he wanted to do. It took a whole ten seconds before the other groaned loudly, saying that he wanted to dance with him. Odd…that's what it was…odd. Slowly taking it he was pulled upward, his right hand on the side of his waist while the other took is left.

Before they did anything the other male asked if he had any idea what was about to happen, and of course he quickly responded no. With another loud groan he told him to just 'follow his lead', which was a lot easier said than done. It took a little while for him to get use to the steps, much to agony the slightly older male's feet, but once he finally got the hang of it he found it to be quite easy. By the time they were dancing to Clair De Lune by Debussy, and maybe it was because of all the spinning but he began to feel a little lightheaded. Everything in the room just seemed to disappear, the only thing remaining being the two of them and the music that filled the air. It was pretty damn easy to say that he was completely lost in the situation…until he remembered that he had a few questions for the 'elder' Haptism. For starters he asked just why the two of them were dancing in the middle of the room, since it was so unlike them to even attempt something like that.

There was a reason…Apparently his next job required him to take photos of an up and coming wedding between two overly privileged brats (socialites), and just incase there was a dance of some kind he wanted him to be prepared. The slightly younger male wasn't surprised when other announced that he was coming along, that was expected, but what completely took him aback was the fact that he had actually accepted such a job. Hallelujah hated formal gatherings with such a passion that if possible he probably would've burned wherever the event was taken place to the ground. Because of his hate he usually declined taking any kind of job that required him to wear a suite, but…this time he hadn't. Obviously he was plotting something…

But going out with him was going out with him, and if it meant Hallelujah getting physically abused because of his idiocy than so be it. Then the other question was asked…just when had he learned how to waltz? Strangely enough he had known since childhood, it being something his mother had taught him during one of her 'random spurs of genius' (what Hallelujah sarcastically called it). It was like her brain would just click, coming up with something that had absolutely nothing to do with the current situation. It was pretty much how he was dragged into clothing shopping with her…something he thought women just did but was proven wrong when the Shinjuku duo told him otherwise.

Once the music stopped the slightly older male plopped on the couch, acting as if their little dance lesson had not taken place at all as the other Haptism finally emerged from the room. He looked exhausted like always…but always played it off as if there was nothing wrong with him. It was becoming a problem…so much so that Tieria feared that he'd collapse some time in the near future. It was a horrible thought, but he kept it to himself just in case it affected the other male's study habits in a negative way. Hallelujah always helped out with dinner, though he didn't always stay, something to do with not wanting to become too attached to the 'apartment he had left'. The nights were always the same; the two of them ate dinner while discussing whatever had happened that day, the dishes were taken care of and whatever happened from there happened, and finally they turned in. That was pretty much it…it was uneventful but enjoyable.

It rained the entire week, just like he predicated, so he spent a good portion of his time inside. The 'elder' Haptism taught him a few more steps, seeing as how the wedding was supposed to take place in the next two days. And what a wedding it was…When the word 'socialite' popped into his head, obviously money was the first thing he thought at, and whoever the two were (seeing as how Tieria never really bother to keep up with wealthy folk) had gone all out. The entire area was decorated in white and lavender, from the purple cloth that adorned each of the guest's tables to the white ivory dress the bride wore. The china looked beautiful, and if he really had to guess it was probably all hand painted (each table had a different 'set'). There were flowers everywhere to match the color scheme, all of them real and all of them vibrant. Since the people were pretty well known of course Hallelujah wouldn't have been photographer there, flashes coming from every which way reminded him of that.

What amused him to no end was not the outrageously (but gorgeous) expensive scenery was the fact that the slightly older male had actually bothered to wear a tux to make himself look decent. But the kicker wasn't that he was wearing a tux, oh no, it was that he had slicked his hair back. The 'elder' Haptism was a creature of habit, never changing much about himself through the years…one of the minimum changes being his hair. Not matter what the occasion, be it formal or casual, he always wore his hair in the same fashion without giving a damn who complained. But not that time, which came as a complete shock to Tieria; for the first couple of minutes he didn't say a word, fearing that it would come off as offensive to the other male. But after two hours he couldn't keep it to himself any longer…and began to chuckle every time he looked over at the 'elder' Haptism.

He just looked so…different!

About three hours into the wedding the slightly older male had wandered off somewhere, leaving him alone at one of the tables reserved for the 'media'. He didn't mind all that much, seeing as how the other was there for business rather than pleasure. It was still a complete mystery as to why he had taken the job, and it was rather clear that just because he had taken it did not in any way that his personal feelings had changed. He was visibly irritated, gritting his teeth whenever he so much as heard two people speaking about something unrelated to the wedding. But whenever it looked like he was going to lose it the second youngest would take his hand and try to calm it down. It worked for the most part, but calming him down did not stop his ill talk about the people around him.

After a few minutes he was approached by an older looking gentleman, one he had seen mingling with a few people. He took a seat across from him and introduced himself, adding that he had only seen Tieria in pictures. That made him perk up a little; the only people that knew him by 'picture only' obviously worked with the 'elder' Haptism, so he gave the older man a loud 'oh!' before introducing himself. The two of them spent the next thirty minutes talking, well…really the obviously older employee just asked him various questions while he answered them truthfully. It was a bit odd, but the other didn't seem to have a threatening air about him, so that told him there was no reason to panic. After the thirty minutes had ended he left, leaving only a business card and the rather short 'you should e-mail me'. It wasn't until Hallelujah came back, hair looking as if whatever he had slicked it back with was on its last leg, that he really looked at the card give to him.

From the title it was quickly deducted that he had spoken to Hallelujah's _boss_. He knew it would've probably been best to keep what had happened to himself, so he merely tucked it away in his pants pocket and decided to forget about it. The second oldest didn't stay very long, this time taking him as he left, and their destination made him grip at the older male's hand slightly. The dance floor. Obviously he expected to see it at some point, but he didn't expect to see so many damn people there! What if he messed up? What if they laughed? The people around him knew what they were doing, and hell, had probably been doing it for years. His head was so filled to the brim with 'what if's that it took the 'elder' Haptism crushing their bodies together to snap him out of it. As they took the position they had practice in, it was then that the other male asked if he had figured out just why the two of them were attending such a horribly expensive event. Just as he was about to go on about some kind of overly complicated prank the slightly older male had put together, Tieria was stopped with a loud 'INCORRECT'.

Once the music started the two of them began to move along with the others, Hallelujah explaining his reasoning in the process. He was simple and to the point as always, but his answer caused the slightly younger male to blush. The 'elder' Haptism, with all of his hatred towards how he looked and the people around him, just wanted to take him somewhere 'nice' for once. It was sweet and he really couldn't help burying his face in the other male's chest to hide his extremely red face. After the music had ended and the bride and groom rode away for their honeymoon, it was officially time to leave. Going home in the rain might've bothered him in the past, but he was too hopped up on bliss that he hardly minded. The train ride was silent, but not because of some kind of awkwardness but because of the sheer exhaustion the two of them felt. But even in his fatigued state Tieria could easily say he was happy.

Hallelujah had done a good job.

The next few days were slow, only because both of the twins were busy. He was sure the 'elder' Haptism was okay as he locked himself away in his apartment, trying his best to figure out just which photos he was going to submit, but it was the younger one that he had concern about. Allelujah had had little to no contact with anyone else, only venturing out of his room to either eat or bathe. He hardly spoke but would always reassure him that everything was alright…when it clearly wasn't. This went on through Friday, and by that time the second youngest had became hell-bent on doing something. To do so he needed to think, and the spot he chose to do so was right in front of the other male's door. It wasn't like he'd be coming out any time soon, so the fear of getting hit was completely taken out of the picture. He might've previously said that inference with the 'younger' Haptism's school work was unforgivable, but there was a line that was about to be crossed.

The line of sanity…Allelujah was going to lose it if he didn't stop the insane marathon he was pulling. The more he thought about it the more the pit of his stomach began to pinch; hard work wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but the way the slightly older male was going about it was all wrong. What was that old line from that American film he'd seen years ago…oh, '_all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy_' or in this case makes Allelujah a basket case. Deciding that it was probably better to act than think about it, he removed himself from the spot he'd been sitting in for about an hour, not wanting to waste anymore time. The first thing he did was knock, checking to see if the other was in any way responsive. He received nothing…that wasn't good.

Opening the door he found an all too familiar sight…the slightly older male was sitting at the small desk they owned, head down as he focused intensely on what he was writing. There were paper scattered everywhere, on the floor and the desk, and Tieria just knew the slightly older male would panic because he 'couldn't find anything' sometime soon. Walking over, trying his best to not step on anything, he told the other that it was probably time for a break. The 'younger' Haptism didn't even look up at him as he responded, which was only a small 'maybe later' that was kind of expected. Sighing a little the second youngest began to collect everything piece of paper on the floor both small and big, piling them up on his free arm. There were so many of them, a few of the same subject just explained in a different way. As he moved on to the desk the other male's paid him no mind, a fact that instantly changed the moment he snatched whatever it was he was working on.

His head snapped in his direction, finally giving the second youngest some kind of attention. He fringed a smile, Allelujah asking rather nicely if he could have his work back when his eye were practically screaming 'what the hell are you doing?' which was some what amusing to see. He could beg and plead all he wanted…he wasn't getting anything back until he took some kind of break. Directly looking at the slightly older male he told him this, giving him a look that was only reserved for his brother when he was extremely pissed off. But it really didn't faze him (or the thought he was joking), since the slightly older male merely gave him a nervous laugh and began to reach for his stolen property, to which his hand was roughly slapped as if he was a child reaching for a freshly baked cookie.

There would be none of that, so he dropped everything in his hands outside of the room, going back over to the completely astonished male and pulled him in the direction of the bed. His shock prevented any kind of resistance, or reaction at all for that matter, and it made stripping him much easier. It was just down to his boxers since it was what he usually wore to bed, and because the room was already in a state of dismay it didn't seem wrong to just discard the pieces of cloth on the floor. Of course he blushed, but still managed to keep his calm yet stern demeanor as he tucked him in. To insure that nothing of his was retrieved, the second youngest sat by the door, arms crossed and looking as if it would've been quite the mistake if anyone trifled with him. But behind that look was pure concern, and as time went on it began to show. His arms were no longer crossed, instead they hugged his knees against his chest, his face buried within them to hide his feelings.

Tieria was scared…scared that the other male's bad habits would last even when his best efforts were put forth. But there was another reason for the second youngest wanted the other to stop with his intense study habits, a much more selfish one that even he didn't want to admit to himself. He wanted Allelujah to pay more attention to him…wanted him to look at him like he use to. He could smile and cheer him on as much as he wanted, but it became increasingly harder to deal with the feeling he had in the pit of his stomach. It was wrong, he knew, to have such a feeling towards someone who was working so hard, which was exactly why he kept it to himself.

The 'younger' Haptism slept for three days straight, and on the fourth awaked looking so refreshed that it was almost astonishing. The first thing he did was apologize to the slightly younger male, explaining that he should've taken better care of himself. Of course he should've! But he kept that comment to himself. It was a bit awkward for the rest of the day, the slightly younger male feeling as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. He was pretty much silent when Hallelujah came over, and he really wished his odd behavior had gone unnoticed. The 'elder' Haptism did nothing but prod him for questions, and when he couldn't get anything out of him he began to screw around with him. Because of this quite a few emotions began to well up inside of him, and for some unknown reason he began to cry. Why? It wouldn't have been an 'unknown reason' if he had known.

The worst part was that he couldn't stop it! He heard the twins trying to comfort him, well…really it was just Allelujah since his brother was too busy freaking out. In the past his actions had never earned such a reaction out of the younger male, so his frantic state was completely understandable. It took a little while but he did manage to control his body, and by that time he felt so angry with himself. His own feelings had finally become too much to handle, and there wasn't a wall in the world that could hide them away anymore. So when it was finally time for the two of them to call it a day, Tieria began to dump everything he had been holding back for god knows how long, be it selfish or otherwise. It was amazing just how much he had to let out, and if the while ten minutes that went by didn't tell him that he should've done it sooner then he wasn't sure what else could've. Upon finishing he panted a little, finding explaining his own feelings rather tiresome.

The reaction he received was, for a lack of better words, not what he was expecting. Tieria wasn't even aware that he had been pushed onto his back until the other male's lips pressed against his, and his body couldn't help but tense up. It wasn't until he remembered mentioning something about 'being neglected' in his long speech that his tenseness began to ease itself. It was exactly because of his loss of tenseness that he found his shirt hiked up, sleeping shorts completely gone and a hand making its way down his abdomen. It had been a while since the two of them had done anything, so every touch sent heat waves down his spine again and again. The other male's fingers were hot, and every area he touched on his body he swore was going to leave a mark of some kind. His head was beginning to spin, which meant his dive into lust had just begun and he knew Allelujah would prolong the experience until the reached their final moment.

"Tieria…" He heard the other start, "I'm sorry…"

Before Tieria could even fathom just why the other male was apologizing he bit down lightly on his right nipple, words becoming completely useless as he let out a long groan. The 'younger' Haptism left small nips and kisses as he followed the same route as his hand, the destination known but that did not mean the slightly younger male could ready himself for what was to come. He never could…no matter how much he psyched himself up nothing could prepared himself for what was about to happen to his lower half. Upon feeling his leg spread he covered his mouth his with his arm, fearing the sounds that were to come. Hallelujah _hated_ it when he did this…which usually resulted in his arms being pinned above his head, the slightly older male telling him to disregard whatever the neighbors threw at the wall. Sure he could do that, but there was no way in hell he could face them the next time he saw them. But as always Allelujah was different; instead of just forcing him to let it all out he slowly coached him out of his uncomfortable position.

Instead of going directly to his length the slightly older male always liked to take his time and leave as many marks as he could on his inner thigh, which was pretty much the best way to make the second youngest beg. God it felt so good…his body twisted and jerked as the other male descended, hitting sweet spot after sweet spot as he did so.

But he was taking too damn long!

"P-Please…lower." Was all the second youngest could moan out as his hand ran through strands of dark hair, his patient wearing thin as his desired to be touched grew more. The kiss to his leg indicated that the other male understood, but the slightly younger male didn't expect the other to immediately engulf his length with his mouth. His head jerked back as he moaned out loud, a sound he knew their neighbors would probably complain about. But in the midst of things that really didn't matter.

The hand that gently stroked the other male's hair was now gripping, trying its best to not push the other down but failing miserably. He was gone, and hell, if someone walked in on them at the very moment he probably wouldn't have given them a second thought. Well…he probably would've have but his mind obviously would've told him to just screw it and focus on the task at hand. Upon feeling a finger slip inside of him he jerked forward, it feeling as uncomfortable as ever. Having something showed into him, be it a finger or otherwise, was something he couldn't get over. His though doing it at least a few times would make such a feeling go away, but no, he still acted as if it was his first time. Maybe that was a good thing for the situation since he had overhead that some people preferred when their partner was…_tight_, but every time he wanted to ask either Haptism twin if they actually liked that aspect about himself he just couldn't bring it up, finding that there really wasn't any way to fit in 'oh hey, do you like the fact that I act like a virgin every time we have sex?' into the conversation without it getting extremely awkward.

"W-Wait, don't add another-"

That was pretty much all he could get out as another finger was added inside of him, the 'younger' Haptism mouth still working on his length as he did so. The slightly younger male knew he should've kept his mouth shut since he was getting the attention he wanted and Allelujah was finally letting out all the pent up energy he had, but his rear-end prevent this. He was too goddamn sensitive, that's all there was to it. He felt every little movement those digits made, and as soon they brushed against his prostate someone could've shoved a banana up his ass because he wouldn't have given a _**damn**_. That spot always made white hot flashes appear before him, mind only focusing on that pleasure spot as it was touched over and over again. Screw whatever pains he had before because when that spot was hit nothing else mattered, but because of this that it didn't take long for that all too familiar feeling to creep up into his stomach.

He gave fair warning to the other male as best he could, even if it only came out as a few 'I-I'm's and 'w-wait's, but thank god the slightly older male stopped before anything could really happen. He licked his way back up, fingers still very much inside of him and still very much caressing that spot. It was probably better to tell him that 'that time' needed to come, like, _now_, because his body only had but so much left it into before it completely gave out. Luckily for him the slightly older male was a mind reader and removed his fingers from inside of him, the small 'hurry' he muttered also probably helped. As soon as he felt the other male's lips once again press against his, there was no mistaking what was about to happen next. There was no need to brace himself since it would do him no good, so he just waited, waited for Allelujah's member to probe his entrance and then enter.

But it didn't come. Instead of put anything else inside of him the other male pressed his own erect member against his own, the two of them giving off a loud groan as he did so. This was new…but that didn't necessarily mean he didn't like it. The two of them rarely did anything different outside of the bedroom, each of them going in with a set idea as to what was going to happen, but maybe a little change here and there wouldn't have been a bad thing. Giving off a loud moan as the slightly older male gowned his hips against, Tieria wrapped his arms around the 'younger' Haptism's back as he tried to get use to such a new feeling. Well it wasn't an _entirely_ new feeling, seeing as how in the past they would sometimes unintentionally brush against the other's erection…but this time it was deliberate.

The other male started out slow, and he was sure from just that friction alone he'd come within minutes. But for the second time that night the other male decided to go against his thinking. Reaching down between the two of them he grasped both of their members, making it seem as if he was either really impatient or he seriously couldn't stand the lack of heat he was feeling (he was guessing). Whatever the reason it didn't seem to stop Tieria's mind from screaming '_does it matter what the hell he's doing? It feels good!_', and well, that's really all there was to it. If it felt good did the reason really matter? Hell no it didn't. Gripping the slightly older male tighter he began to babble in incoherently, the only thing he himself could make out as the heat finally went to his head was the request for 'more'. Apparently Allelujah heard a lot more than he did, because the next thing he knew he was sitting in his lap, back against him as he continued to stoke the both of them and once again slide two finger inside of him. Closing his eyes he decided it was probably best to just ride the waves of pleasure that were assaulting his body one after the other, no end seemingly in sight.

There would be an end, he knew, but it just didn't _feel_ like it. He grabbed the other male's leg in anticipation, knowing that with everything that was happening to him there was no way he could hold on for much longer. Upon feeling a rather uncomfortable pressure coming from his lower half there really wasn't much he could do, just wait and hope to god he didn't sound like a girl when he came. That was so goddamn embarrassing…he knew his voice got a little high during the act of sex, but after being told that during climax he sounded like a female groupie screaming for her favorite boy band (Hallelujah's words) he began to absolutely _detest_ his voice while being screwed…mainly because there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

His body tense as he felt a third finger enter him, and it was really all it took for him to completely let go and come rather hard. His ears rang so he couldn't really hear himself as he screamed god knows what into the air, trembling as his own orgasm caused him to lurch forward. He was sure the other male reached his peek as well, but he was so wrapped up in his own that it completely went over his head. After a minute of panting and just trying their best to gather themselves, he really couldn't help but collapse against the mattress below him. The second youngest was spent, and as much he wanted to just sleep the rest of the night away he knew something was going to be said.

"Um, Tieria…"

There it was…

"If you want I could, you know, stop taking classes-"

"I'd strangle you if you did that…" He said, completely cutting the other male off. He didn't bother to move since that would take up energy, and he really wanted to save what little he had for speaking.

"But you said-"

"I said that I wanted more attention…that doesn't mean you have to quite doing what you love. I mean I'm already being selfish by just asking that much, but for me to want you to give up everything just for me is beyond that…"

There was silence after that, and it was a damn good thing because he had used up what little energy he had and needed to recharge momentarily. The bed shifted for a moment and when he felt a hand on his back he knew that the slightly older male was lying next to him, and though comforting it didn't do a think to help his lack of oomph. Even if he did have enough energy to say something he really didn't want to…what more could he say? He didn't want Allelujah throwing everything away because he said something stupid…he just wanted them to go out on occasion, to act like, well, a normal couple. He didn't want to be ignored for days on end, he just…wanted some acknowledgement.

At some point he must've fallen asleep, the only thing he recalled was him blinking once but upon opening his eyes found that it was light outside. Dreamless night were the worst…not that he actually remembered what happened when he was unconscious, but he was aware that something had gone on in his head and that was good enough for him. Sitting up he found that he was, as he expected, quite groggy, though his rear-end did hurt a lot less. The slightly younger male was a little surprised to find that he was wearing one of Allelujah's shirts; the only thing he hated was his own shortness prevented it from actually looking like a shirt, and unfortunately at his age there wasn't much he could do to make himself sprout a few more inches. Sighing a little he slipped out of bed, knowing that because the other male wasn't in the bedroom the only other place he could've been so early in the morning was the kitchen.

There wasn't any shame in wearing just a shirt around the apartment since it wasn't like anyone was going to come over, though he did jump a little when he saw Hallelujah sitting at the table looking a bit more peeved off then usual. What the hell could've pissed him off so early in the morning?

"My boss asked about you."

Oh…that obviously would've done the trick.

"The hell did you say to him at the wedding?"

"Nothing…he just asked me what I thought about it…" He said as he sat down across from the 'elder' Haptism, knowing full well how just the mere mention of 'boss' would send him into an overly pissed off mood.

"Well what ever the hell you said he wants to talk to you…did you say anything about me?"

"No you paranoid freak, I didn't talk about you!"

And then the arguing started…just because they loved one another didn't mean they couldn't annoy the hell out of each other. But bickering was a part of love too, right? Luckily it didn't last long, the 'younger' Haptism placing two plates in front of them pretty much defused the situation. It was amazing that even after so many years he and Hallelujah still shared a 'cat and dog mentality' on occasion. It was something that would probably never change about the two of them, and maybe that was a good thing…because an extremely 'nice' Hallelujah was something he really didn't want to deal with…too creepy.

"Maybe he just wants to give him job." Allelujah said as he sat down, probably trying to figure out the best way to stop the two of them again if they went at it.

"Why?" The other Haptism asked, then directing his attention at the second youngest, "It's not like you can take decent photos, and when it comes to writing-"

"I can write!" He blurted out, not liking where the slightly older male was going.

"I know…but I just think you shouldn't be wasting your talents on an entertainment magazine…do something more informative, hell, write a book even."

That…sounded like a compliment. But compliment or not he still needed a job…and working with someone he knew didn't seem like that bad of an idea. Sighing a little he told the 'elder' Haptism that it was probably better to at least build up a portfolio before venturing out to do something else…so he thought of something that might actually please the other. If he actually did get a job at the same company as him, he would build up enough credibility and then venture off into his own 'thing'. The slightly older male looked at him for a moment, a smirk slowly but surely spreading across his lips.

"Fine…but you know I'm going to give you a whole lot of shit while you're there."

"Unfortunately"

* * *

Hell's Gate had opened…Setsuna was _sick_.

It truly was the last thing he wanted to come home to after having such a crappy day, but apparently some holy figure was not done messing with him. Truth be told he really should've paid attention to the weather since it was always a omen of things to come (or at least eighty percent of the time). Neil awoke that morning to rain, and first and only thing he thought about was what he was going to do for recess. Young children like playing outside…_a lot_, and when they were denied such a pleasure they would become rather rambunctious and a pain to deal with. That wasn't good…He liked his students, really he did, but even the nicest teacher had their limits. Getting out of bed he probably should have noticed that Setsuna was still asleep, or better yet should've noticed that he not only just asleep but _completely_ knocked out, but no, he was too busy worrying about other things to pay him any mind.

The older male had to sigh as he left the room, being very careful so he did not step on any of the pictures that lay on the ground. His wife had pretty much gone on a drawing binge since Sunday, the youngest making it his primary activity for most of the day. He functioned normally throughout it all, which was good because the last thing anyone wanted was for him to lose touch with reality and drift off into his own little world. Granted he got things done, but it was at the expense of his own sanity. Neil had, in the past, seen what could happen if the other male became so absorbed in his own work that nothing else mattered. It was truly a scary thing to watch, and because of this he along with his brother kept tabs on just how much the youngest was doing a day. It wasn't all that hard…though it wasn't always that easy given Setsuna's stubborn nature.

It didn't help at all that it was _hot _and raining, a combo that not only meant smelly surroundings but spelled disaster for any hopes of him having a good commute to work. The smell of wet humans drove him crazy, sweating, fine, wet, he felt like throwing himself off a building. If it truly did rain all day he would not only have to brave the smell not only once but twice, and that in itself set his mind up for 'today is going to be crappy'. It never took long for him get ready for work, mainly because he didn't have to wear a suit. It was one of the many perks of being a kindergarten teacher, the only 'mandatory' thing he actually needed to wear was an apron that he left at school at the end of the day.

Of course there were rules to just how lax ones clothes could be; shirts couldn't have writing of any kind on them, though it wasn't like he actually owned anything like that (there was that one 'will yaoi with boyfriend for free' shirt he owned, but there wasn't a chance in hell he'd wear that to school). Pants could not be ripped so much so that they looked 'punkish', so a rip here and there, though a little tacky, was fine. Hats were fine, though most of the students were the ones that wore them around, no matter what the season was.

His routine in the morning never changed, unless there was something else he needed to do, such as getting Amy ready to go with him. The school in the village didn't always follow the same schedule as the ones in the city, so because of this his mother would sometimes ask him to take her along with him, allowing for more 'quality time' between the two of them. Well…not really 'quality' since she mostly just played with the other kids, but when lunch came she did spend most of her time with him. The funny part was that his most troubled student got along the best with her, though it was a little annoying whenever Louise decided to take her on one of her 'adventures' around the school. The older male really wasn't sure how she managed to slip away from his supervision from time to time, but she did, and he was always be scolded for not 'paying attention'.

The young blonde _loved_ it when he got in trouble…or just whenever he managed to screw up for that matter. But as always he toughed it out because he knew she was just a kid, and as her teacher he needed to steer her in some sort of direction. Somewhere deep (_deep_, _**deep**_) down within her was a good kid, he just needed to figure out how to draw it out…without getting too annoyed.

Going into the bathroom he took a quick shower, mentally going over what he and his students would be doing that day. It was also part of his routine, of there was a set course he had to follow, but it wasn't like he was given any kind of instructions on just how he should teach it. Neil knew he student's needed to have as much fun as possible, because the moment they entered high school all of that would've been taken away from them. It was just how society worked…high school just focused more on getting students ready for the real world, though of course he was only referring to the teacher there since he'd met (and was still acquainted with) quite a few students who didn't act like they were in 'school'. But school was school regardless of what a few 'rowdy' students did, and everyone was in the long haul for the next few years. It was humorous at best, depressing at worst.

Stepping out of the bathroom the cold air hit him rather hard, and even though it felt as it knives were assaulting his skin, it was welcome…compared to the alternative. They were pretty damn lucky to have air conditioning because an electric fan could only do but so much, and that was another reason for him to be happy that they had moved out of their previous apartment. In the past it was hard during the summers, and the only thing worth doing was lying against the floor and prying that a stiff breeze would blow in from the opened back door. The only upside to it all was that his wife became extremely clingy whenever the temperature sky rocketed, and of course it didn't both him in the slightest. But that was the _only _upside…Upon reaching his room the very first thing he did was gather his clothes, making sure they were weather appropriate but at the same time wouldn't look horrible if wet. Neil really needed to go clothing shopping…it was time. As he sat down on the bed, removing the towel from around his waist and proceeding to slip on the pieces of fabric he had just collected, he barely noticed the bed move slightly.

But he did notice a when a sudden weight appeared against his back. Reaching back he stroked Setsuna's hair, noting that the lack of responses to his 'good morning' and 'did you sleep well?' comments meant that he was still half asleep. It was a bit difficult getting his shirt on without disturbing the other, but the other did comply whenever he asked him to move a little. His wife's behavior was odd, but not so odd that he needed to act concerned (or so he thought) so he merely picked him up and placed him back in the bed once he was done dressing. He wasn't as light as he use to be, but that wasn't to say that he'd become so heavy that picking him up was a chore. Though Neil never dared say the word 'heavy' around the youngest in fear of being violently assaulted, and having him workout non-stop, trying his best to make the 'heavy go away'.

The older male watched him snuggle up to the pillow next to him, holding it tightly as he muttered something incoherently before completely going back to sleep. So cute…he'd probably jump him it he didn't have to work. He gave out a slightly dissatisfied sigh as he left, slipping on his shoes at the door and taking an umbrella before leaving. He was on time for the most part since it only took him about five minutes to reach his bus stop, but the rain made him so sluggish, so much so that he felt like turning around and calling it a day when he was only half way there. But he couldn't and he wouldn't; the only time he actually took a day off from work was when he was seriously ill, and since he wasn't there wasn't any real reason for him to turn back. He was just far too loyal to his students, not that there was anything wrong with that.

Upon reaching his stop the next part that came was the worst…riding. Boarding was never a problem since it was always quick and easy (unless he forgot his pass), but the sitting and waiting while the air around him became stale with the scent of sweating human beings…it was a bit much. There was no way he could cover his nose, that would've just come off as rude, so he thanked every deity he could think of that his stop was only twenty minutes away. But even that seemed to be too long…About ten minutes into his commute he noticed something outside of his window, well…he noticed _someone_. It was Louise…walking in the rain, no umbrella (at least she had a raincoat and hat) and looking not particularly happy for some reason. What bothered him was that she was alone, and since she did live a little ways away form the school (him basing this on the information card every parent had to fill out and turn in within the first week of school) that was quite the walk for someone so young.

Good or bad she was still a child and one of his students on top of that, so he quickly rushed up to the front of the bus and asked the driver to stop momentarily. Reluctantly he did so and once the vehicle had come to a full stop, Neil quickly got off and called over to the young girl. The blonde haired girl looked over at him, giving him a glare that easily read 'you're the last person I wanna see right now'. That was understandable but that did not mean he was just going to leave her alone, so he walked over and asked just where her mother was (though it wasn't like she was the one who usually dropped her off in the mornings). She merely gave him a loud 'hmph' before telling him that her mother was away on business, adding that she wouldn't be back for the next two weeks. That seemed like a lot…but it wasn't like it hadn't happened before in the past. Her mother was a busy woman, and because of this Louise had a nanny that would take her to school whenever her mother was out of town. But they were not present either.

Shaking his head a little he told her that it wasn't good to run off on her own, especially when it was raining…he wanted to add that last part but stopped when the young blonde swiftly kicked him in the shin. Needless to say a part of him seriously contemplated leaving her there…Finding it pointless to continue talking to her, the older male merely picked her up under his arm, ignoring her cries of 'lolicon'. His day hadn't really started yet and he was already starting to have headaches. Boarding the bus once more he told the driver that he could leave, going back to his previous seat and sitting his student down next to him once there. She did nothing but complain the entire way there, further ruining any chances of him starting off his day on a good note. What the hell had he done to her? Prior to basically focusing her on the bus with him…but, you know, he had to!

The two of them had to get off one stop before his usual one, and why was this? Because he had forgotten to make his lunch and apparently Louise had forgotten to eat breakfast _and_ take whatever lunch the housekeeper made for her, so they were both in the same boat. There was a convenience store right next to the stop, so a quick stop inside wouldn't be so bad, right? _**Wrong**_…the younger blonde was picky as hell, always declining everything he asked her if she 'liked'. Of course she liked the more expensive bento, and of course he told her time and time again that he was not a piggy bank. The two of them spent a whole ten minutes in the store, and by the time they had actually decided to leave the rain had gotten worse. There wouldn't be another bus for another thirty minutes, so their best option was to walk…and he couldn't even get any peace when doing that! Complain, complain, complain! That's all she did! But no…Neil was a good boy and held her hand, listening as she went on and on.

Naturally he was rather pleased when the two of them finally reached their destination.

His teacher self couldn't help but ask if she wanted to eat in the teacher's lounge, seeing as how the other student wouldn't be arriving for another hour. She just gave him another loud 'hmhp' before walking off…in the direction of the lounge might he add. Why was it so hard to get a simple 'yes' or 'no' out of the blonde? However an even better question popped into his head…why was she walking to school so early? School for the student's didn't start till about nine, and the teachers didn't get to the building until eight. So why would she come a whole hour early? It was probably better to not question the younger girl's motives, because if he asked he'd obviously get hit. Setsuna hitting him, fine, that was normal for him…someone else hitting him (who just happened to be much younger than him to boot) was more than a little annoying.

Luckily for him Marina, who always came in before anyone else, was there and kept Louise busy while he worked on his lesson plan. Little did he know that would have been the only form of 'peace' he'd receive all day. Once all of the students actually arrived everything just went to hell in a hand-basket rather fast; the first thing that happened, _the first thing_, was one of his students getting sick on him. The older male thanked the fact that he was wearing an apron, but that did not stop the smell from seeping into his clothes. Neil spent a good ten minutes in the bathroom just trying to get the small out of his shirt, only to find that his actions only partially solved the problem. So he had to walk around with a smelly shirt for the day…just great. Most his students stayed away from him, asking their questions from afar which would've been nice, but when you have a bunch of kids talking at once a few things get lost in translation…

Such as 'can I go outside?'…and because he heard something else he agreed. This resulted in mud being tracked through the entire room, and with him being the teacher of course he was supposed to clean _all of it up_. Saji, being the nice kid that he was, asked if he could help but before the full question could even leave him he was dragged away by his blonde tormentor who commented that 'adults did that kind of thing all the time'. She was seriously put on the Earth to just screw with him, he just knew it…When lunch finally came around he found his store bought bento to be very unsatisfying, so he spent the rest of the lunch period hungry and tired, prying that everything that had and that was going to happen was nothing more than a bad dream. But no…it wasn't…it just continued on and on with his students running around like they had completely lost it and his tired body having to deal with it, a few of them crying for some unknown reason and his inability to do anything about it, and Louise…always… _**Louise**_.

Was it so wrong of him to expect to come home to some kind of happiness after such day? No, no it really wasn't! But even that couldn't go well! The moment he entered the apartment he was told by his brother that Setsuna was sick and was in a very bad mood, further proving his point by showing him the bite make on his arm. Great…the very last thing he wanted to deal with that day was a pissed off wife. Finding it better to just face him than just run away and have the younger male violently beat him for 'ignoring him', Neil braced himself a he walked to his room, thinking that maybe the other male would see his completely worn out state and have some kind of pity on him. But as he currently stood in front of the door, eyes glued to the doorknob, the unpredictably of the situation finally hit him. It was the fact that he didn't know what was going to happen that scared him, but he had gone through an entire day of hell so it wasn't like him dealing with Setsuna would've been any different.

With a small sigh he opened the door without knocking, finding it useless to warn the other since the outcome would've been the same. In the bed was his wife, sitting up as he focused on the drawing he was working on in his lap. That seemed normal enough…The oldest knew that there wasn't any point in announcing himself because the other was already aware of his presence; it was a well known fact that the youngest had rather good hearing, selective, but still good. He probably heard that front door open, heard Lyle speaking to him about being careful; around him, and without a doubt heard the door to the room open. He walked over slowly, minding his step once again with all the paper on the floor because stepping on one would set the younger male off without a doubt. He was tense upon sitting down next to him, unaware of what to say or if saying anything at all would've been the right decision.

"…Doraemon?" He said as he learned over and eyed what the younger male was drawing.

"Amy asked me to draw him for her…"

Ah yes…the only person Setsuna could not and would not snap at when sick was the youngest Dylandy twin, maybe it was because she was young or maybe she was his sister-in-law, but whatever the reason was he was thankful because the sight of Amy crying was absolutely heartbreaking.

"You reek…" The youngest said, still focused on the task at hand.

"Y-Yeah…I haven't had the best day…" Neil said, noticing the slight change in the other male. Maybe that was the cue to continue on…so he did. He told him about everything that had gone on that day, half expecting some kind of pity to befall him and also knowing that he probably wouldn't get any. But strangely enough his wife patted him on the head with his free hand, telling him that 'everything was going to be okay'. Maybe Lyle was mistaken since the Setsuna before him didn't seem all that sick or evil, maybe his brother had just done something stupid to earn the bite.

Reaching over he pulled the younger male into a hug, giving him a small 'thank you for understanding' before rubbing his cheek against his. Okay…so he did feel a little warm, but that didn't mean the murderous part was true. The younger male muttered a few things under his breath, and since it was completely muffled by the fact that his face was buried in his chest the older male decided to ignore it. He probably should've paid attention to it…The next thing he knew he was on the floor, stomach in pain from the kick he received from the younger male.

"O-Ow! What was that-"

When he saw his wife hold up the picture he was just working on now completely wrinkled, and he didn't need to be a genius to figure out that he had done it. A few options ran through his mind: one was to shut up and take the beating that he knew was going to come, two was to beg and hope to god that the younger male had some amount sympathy left within his small body, or three…get his ass up and run for the bathroom. Three sounded like the best option in his eyes…Quickly getting just as the younger male leaped off the bed, he ran out of the room and straight down the hall. Why the bathroom you ask? Because it was the only room in the entire apartment with a lock that couldn't be picked, and right now he really, _really_ needed a place to hide.

Slipping into the chilled room rather ungracefully, he locked the door, half expecting the younger male to pound on the door for a few seconds, mutter something incoherent then storm off annoyed. Neil did hear a few knocks against the door, a small mutter or two but did not hear any indication that Setsuna's presence had left. So that meant he was stuck in the bathroom until said presence left…which wouldn't have been that bad if the current room he was in wasn't _freezing cold_. Why did the bathroom always have to be the coldest room in any home? Did it have something to do with the tile, thus attracting all of the cool air inside? Whatever the reason he cursed slightly because he was stuck in such a cold room until his wife cooled his head off. Hell, he would've been better doing so in the bathroom…

"Dammit, Setsu, why do you have to be like this? My day sucked enough as is…" He muttered to himself as his back pressed against the door, hoping that the other male would tire out sometime soon. Three minutes, five minutes, ten minutes, the time just seemed to tick away, and he really had to wonder if his wife was waiting outside the entire time.

It wouldn't have been the first time the youngest had done something like that, waiting with ninja like patience for him to come out of his hiding spot. It was especially bad when the two of them were younger since the older male was not the patient type, thus making the waiting game not all that long and getting himself attacked each and every time. Maybe he truly was a masochist, because he knew each time that the other male was waiting for him and knew that he'd get punished for whatever he had done to piss him off. He was a strange kid, he knew, but just having Setsuna touch him in any form back then was satisfying. Yeah, that's right…any touch would've done back then, be it hurtful or pleasant. Why was he in the bathroom again? Or right, running away, geez he had been so lost in thought about things in the past that time seemed to have slipped away. Creaking the door open he peered around momentarily before stepping out, fully intending to sneak back to his room.

"I must be sick…I couldn't even break the door down…"

That made him take a few steps back. Sitting on the floor near the door was his wife, knees against his chest and looking not particularly happy…or well for that matter. He looked run down, and that made him feel horrible; the younger male had used his last bit of strength he'd probably been saying to finish the picture he was drawing for Amy on him, and that just seemed wrong. Picking him up he headed back to their room, the younger male clinging to his still-needed-to-be-washed shirt. If the younger male's plan was psychologically wound him by making him go through a horrible guilt trip, then it was working just fine. He never meant for him to overexert himself to the point of looking like he was about to collapse, and he was such a horrible husband for not thinking about the situation as a whole. He seriously felt like hitting himself…Setting Setsuna's small frame down on the bed, he gave him a small 'I'm sorry' before sitting next to him, still feeling like he should crawl into a corner and die.

"Then make it up to me…" The smaller male muttered.

"How?"

Without much word he was pushed on his back, the younger male's arms wrapped around his chest and his head resting just below his neck. He said that if he wanted to be forgiven then he had to stay with him, and that didn't seem like all that hard of a task-

"And if you leave I'll cut your dick off…"

Yeah, he was completely expecting that.

"I know, and I love you too."

"Shut up…"

* * *

_**A/N:**_ Heck yes! Fifty reviews!


	23. The Box Cutter Chapter

"Where's-"

"He's in the hospital. He won't be coming back so they're sending a replacement."

Ah…as horrible as that sounded, work needed to continue on. It wasn't him being heartless for anything like that, there was a deadline that needed to be met and until then he'd have to keep his personal feelings to himself. It was just how things worked in the manga business, if one strayed too far from their priorities it would eventually lead to cancellation. He knew this all too well…because he had worked with one or two people that were so overly optimistic and obnoxious about getting serialized in a magazine that it went straight to their heads, quality being the first thing they kicked out of the door. It was hard to watch, and even harder hearing that he had been fired because of their neglect. Luckily for Setsuna his current 'boss' was not like that, which did, indeed, give him great relief.

The younger male had been working as an assistant since he was eighteen, and though it wasn't the hardest business to get into it was one of the strangest. It was suggested by his husband that he try to 'break into the manga industry', to which he told him that it wasn't as easy was walking in the door and getting the job. But the thought stayed on his mind for a while, and just when he was about to lose it decided that it was probably best to see if he was even qualified to do desk work. So he made a portfolio of a bunch of random drawing that he thought might please whoever he was going to be talking to, and truth be told Setsuna wasn't really expecting much. Sure he could draw, but the author was responsible for putting out a story that captured the attention of the readers and it took more than just a few pretty pictures to do so. Creativity and imagination were necessary, and the younger male wasn't sure if he had enough of either to convey any kind of story.

When the day of his 'appointment' (what the person on the phone called it) finally came around, a small hint of nervousness came over him. Manga or not this would be his first job interview, and he did still have that small issue about talking to people he didn't know. The thought of taking someone with him did occur, but he was not a child and doing so would only irritate him in the end. Not to mention that if he had actually taken one of the Dylandy twins along they would obviously interject every chance they could about how 'wonderfully talented' he was, and even if that might've sounded nice that was not the purpose of the interview. So that idea was off the table, and it meant he had to deal with the anxiety when it came. He had managed to control his outward appearance when it came to becoming anxious, but still needed to count or think of something else to just calm his body down on the inside. Maybe it would go away with time, maybe it would just diminish but not completely leave him, whatever the outcome he hoped it happened some time soon because he could not go on with life freaking out every time someone he didn't know spoke to him.

It was…annoying…

The youngest was on time when arriving at the building, and when he was immediately asked to go to the fourth floor by the receptionist his stomach began to pinch. Everything would be alright…that's what he told himself over and over again as he swore the world around him began to slow down. There was no logical reason for him to be stressing himself out, Setsuna knew this, but that didn't stop his mind from going into overdrive. There were so many 'what if-' scenarios going through his head that it was becoming quite hard to focus on anything, so he let out a deep sigh and began to answer each of them one by one. The worst thing that could happen is that he didn't get the job, and in that case it was rather easy for him to simply find another company. That was it…and by the time he had reached the right floor he had managed to get himself under control.

He walked by desk after desk cluttered with paper until he found the nameplate of the person he was supposed to be meeting with, and once he did he was instantly asked to sit down. The person in question looked bored, expression reading 'not another one'. There were hundreds of people out there that _wanted_ to be manga artist, 'wanted' being the underlined word, and the editors, like the one he was speaking to, had to deal with every single one of them that waltzed through the door and thought they had the 'next big thing'. He could understand the feeling a bit, seeing one idea after another and deeming them either not up to the standards of the company or just down right unacceptable, but at least they could've hidden it better. Handing over his portfolio he waited as each one of the pictures he had placed inside were looked over with slow and with meticulous eyes, Setsuna trying his best to not squirm or fidget.

It was a small and controllable habit he without a doubt picked up from his husband, who could not keep himself still while sitting for more than five minutes. It usually occurred when he was studying, be it by tapping his foot against the floor or his fingers against the table, or his personal favorite making up a beat _while_ he tapped his fingers against the table. It was like _Name That Tune_, which only became a little sad upon realizing that he had name every song the older male had tapped out…meaning he probably should've gotten out more. Because of his observant nature the younger male noticed every little movement the other did, from the arch of his brow on occasion to the slight nod he seemed to do quite often. That in itself should've been nerve-racking but he managed to keep himself calm, which did earn him a few curious glances from the person who was looking over his work. The editor was probably expecting him to talk non-stop about himself, about how he would start out as and assistant then becoming one of the more popular artist out on the market.

That wasn't what he was there for…the younger male just wanted to confirm if his work was in any way acceptable for some kind of workplace or not. It took fifteen minutes for all of his pictures to be looked over, and after that he was asked a few questions such as 'why are you interested in becoming an assistant?', 'are you _sure_ you don't want to be a mangaka?', and so on and so forth. There was no point in lying so he answer as truthfully as he could, earning a few looks from his interviewer in the process. It was a bit odd, but he managed to keep his composer throughout it all. When the two of them were done Setsuna collected his things, left his contact information and bowed a little, the editor giving him a 'we'll call you when there's an opening'. It wasn't as horrible as he thought it was going to be and that little voice in the back of his head decided it wanted to celebrate prematurely, which was okay since his outward appearance didn't change in the slightest.

Though by the time he had gotten himself home he did allow himself a little smile. He told the Dylandy twins about his interview and of course the both of them told him that he had gotten the job, neglecting the fact that the 'we'll call you' was not always an indication that the job was his. But always he allowed them to praise him because, hell, he liked it. He was human after all, so of course he enjoyed it when he was told that he had done well at something. It made his chest feel warm, so much so that he always had to hide his face from the world because it made him feel so embarrassed. It was such a small thing but it managed to make him feel so much, which just happened to by the twin's specialty. That night to celebrate his 'new job' the three of them decided to have a Shabu-shabu dinner that night, which was fine, but it required him to go shopping to get everything they needed. Because he disliked talking on his phone while in the grocery store he had to take the two of them along with him, and he had forgotten momentarily just how much he actually hated doing that.

It was like dealing with two goddamn eight year olds…every ten second he was constantly being asked 'Setsu, can we buy this?', to which he would give them a very irritated and low 'no'. It became so bad that he didn't even bother to look at whatever item they had picked up to deny them of it, even if he himself some time later picked it up. Seriously, how old were they? By the time the three of them actually made it to the checkout counter the younger was so done with the twins, and when the checkout lady comment that she thought it was 'cute' for the younger brother to take charge he couldn't help but mutter that he felt more like mother than a brother. He really did and there was no getting around that fact. As a form of punishment he made them carry all of the heavier bags, which just happened to be all of them. Of course he had bought a few extra things so they didn't starve in the future, and he told them point blank if they dropped anything and ruined it they'd be deprived of sex for an entire week. Needless to say the three of them returned home without incident, slower than usual, but still without incident.

The rest of the night went on much like any other night that they had Shabu-shabu; the Dylandy twins would ways cut one of their fingers in the process of helping him prep the vegetables, too much rice was always made and so it was saved for whatever they were having the next day, Lockon and Lyle would always fight over the last piece of meat which in the end he would steal since they were 'taking too long'. Even if he didn't get the job spending time with them like that was more than worth it. It took three days to get a call back, and even though he was excited apparently there was no topping how the twins felt about it…he practically had to pry the two of them off of his body so he could leave. He was given the address to the studio for the mangaka he was supposed to meet, and was told that the person in question was a 'newbie'. The younger male really didn't mind as long as he was working under someone. What the editor neglected to tell him that the person he was meeting was…a little on the strange side.

Lichtendahl 'Lichty' Tsery was his name (or rather what he introduced himself as) and even though he was a rather nice person to be around, some of his habits were not what one would call 'normal'. The first thing he was asked upon arriving, in probably the most dramatic fashion he'd ever heard, was that all too common question 'what are your favorite animes?'. The question really didn't annoy him it was just that he had heard it so many times that it had become an unwanted part of his otaku life. He told the other male pointblank that he didn't have a 'favorite' anime, but the ones he'd deemed re-watchable no matter what the day were the older _Gundam_ series and _Neon Genesis __Evangelion__. _Setsuna had a love-hate relationship with anime, so much so that it depended on the day and time for him to consider something his 'favorite'. 'Watchable' was probably a better word for him to use than 'favorite', mainly because 'favorite' implied (from his understanding of the anime fandom) that he would chew out or kill anyone for talking badly about what he had branded his 'favorite'

There were certain lengths he'd go for his fandom, but getting extremely worked up over something like anime was not something he'd usually did or would probably never do in the future. There was a line between having a passion for something and just downright idiocy, and the younger male would defend what he saw as 'watchable' but not to the point of looking like a jackass. He watched as his new employer spun around in his office chair (something he liked to do often he'd later find out) a few times, as if trying to dissect the two shows and what he had just said into whatever equation he had made up in his head. It was rather interesting to watch…When the other male stopped he smiled brightly at him and gave him a loud 'you can stay!' which did take him by surprised slightly.

He was then put in charge of inking and drawing the backgrounds, which wouldn't have been that bad if someone wasn't looking over his shoulder a majority of the time. It just felt…odd. The next thing 'Lichty' did was completely stop him from working so the two of them could go on a 'snack run' at the local convenience store, and even though he was in need of a break some kind of warning would've been nice. It was at the store that he learned a little more about the person he was working under; apparently he was one year older than him and was attended a university not to far away from his studio, which made the commute pretty easy. Lichty had wanted to get into an art college at first, but found it a little hard since he had failed art in high school. It was a fact that you could not turn in something anime related for _every_ project…sadly Setsuna knew this from experience (it was ONE time).

The slightly older male also had the habit of playing music whenever the two of them worked (and it seriously was _**just**_ the two of them unless his editor came over), the only problem with this was that a few of them had dances to them…so of course they had to do them, or rather the youngest was dragged into doing them. He didn't mind doing hare hare yukai or the _Sakura Wars_ gekitei dance (he was actually quite fond of that one), but they did have work to be done and didn't have time to be fooling around…That's what he thought at first. The younger male worked with Lichty for an entire year and the two of them never missed a deadline expect for once, and that was because the slightly older male had come down with the flu. Considering that fact that the two of them were juggling both school and a _weekly_ series made it even more of an amazing feat. The slightly older male ended his run with fifty chapters, and even if that didn't seem like a lot the other male was happy with those numbers and that was enough for the both of them.

Because the series had finished (not cancelled) meant Setsuna had to move on to another job, and with that in mind Lichty let him go on his way, his parting words being 'I hope the two of us can work together again some time in the future!'. Yeah…that didn't sound like a bad idea. From that point on he was bounced around to different authors, some he was pleasantly pleased to work with while others he couldn't stand the very sound of their voices. But love it or hate it, he did learn a thing or two about the industry and what it really takes to be a mangaka. It wasn't as easy a profession as most people thought it to be based on the fact that so much time needed to go into it, but that didn't mean one couldn't have any kind of fun with it. It might've taken a few years but he did end up working with Lichty again, who had changed magazines over to a monthly one instead of weekly. The slightly older male was his current employer, and even though he had become a little more prioritized it didn't mean he'd become any less strange (or fun).

"Really? Aw, he was in charge of color pages! Setsu, do you think you could take care of those?" Lichty asked from his desk, the younger male knowing that if he didn't agree he'd never hear the end of it.

"I'll see if I can after I finish pages thirty through forty-five…" He said, pretty much giving the other male the only form of a 'yes' he could.

"Why not just pass it on to the new guy?" The female beside him said, not really interested in the topic but deciding that her input was apparently necessary. Things were a little different from the past, and one of those things just happened to be that the slightly older male could actually afford to hire other assistants. One of those assistants was Wang Liu Mei, and though he had never actually worked with her before he had heard some…interesting rumors about her.

What he knew for fact was that she was rather well off, but just why she had chosen to have such a profession remained a mystery to most if not all. And then there were the rumors…apparently some believed that she slept with certain editors so she could work with popular authors. Some people also believed that she was the reason a popular mangaka had to completely stop his series due to 'complications with staff', if there was truth to any of these claims Setsuna really didn't care…the only thing to him that did matter was if she could contribute to Lichty's work. The older male had the habit of calling her 'Mei-chan' while he on the other hand just called her 'Liu Mei-sempai' since she had been working one year longer than he had, but neither name seemed to bother her and in fact she seemed rather fond of them. Hell, she liked to call him 'Neko-chan' since she believe he had the personality of a cat…which could've been true.

She was flirtation in a way, but not so much to the point where he felt like telling her off. She wasn't like a certain Trinity sibling…The two of them would talk outside of the 'workplace' whenever she decided to walk home (or at least to where her brother would pick her up), and just from her way of speaking he could easy deduct that she preferred the 2-D world opposed to the 3-D one. Liu Mei's view of the world was slightly skewed, finding it 'dirty' and 'not worth the time', but when speaking about the worlds other people made up on paper she couldn't help but think differently. Setsuna didn't have the authority or right to tell her that she sounded a tad out there, so he kept his personal comments to himself.

"Heh, it'd be a good test, no?" She said as she twirled her pencil between her fingers, obviously wanting the replacement to screw up on their first day.

"Er, I don't wanna give the new guy that kind of workload early on. Don't wanna work the poor guy into the ground on the first day, ya know?"

That was true which was why he'd rather finish up what he was doing as quickly as possible, since he was the kind of person who did not like push work on others. Thankfully it didn't take long for him to finish up the inking on the pages he had been working on, and once done he immediately moved on to the next task. Color pages were pretty important, so he took his time and made sure he didn't get anything wrong. He remembered the characters color schemes by heart so he didn't need to consult his boss about anything, he just did what he usually did. The younger male tuned everything around him out as he worked, and he always did so when something important was passed onto him. It just made things easier, though it did also mean if someone was trying to talk to him he wouldn't respond unless they yelled. He spent a good hour like that until a cramp in his hand stopped him, so naturally it was time for a break. Sitting back he stretched his arms, rubbing the kink out of his neck in the process.

He did have the ability to work non-stop, but he was smart enough not to…because thanks to the past he had a clear memory of what would become of his hand. Dealing with a stiff appendage was not fun, but it was his own fault for trying to get an art project done in one go. It wasn't like he was about to turn it in late or anything like that, he just…wanted to get it done ahead of time. His punishment for trying to get things done too quickly was a cramp that lasted most of the day, but of course the Dylandy twins had a bit of fun trying to massage it out of him. It was another reason he tried to take it easy when it came to working, because the last thing he needed was to screw up his drawing hand. Setsuna liked to draw and liked his job, so jeopardizing both of those things because he wanted to work 'a little harder' would completely ruin him.

Once his little break was over Lichty asked if he wanted to go on a snack run with him, spinning in his chair as he did so. Of course if he had asked five minutes ago when he as still on his personal break then he would've agreed, but with a sigh the younger male declined since he had already shifted back into work mode. Liu Mei agreed to go before she was even asked, not because she actually wanted to but because she couldn't stand some of the snack that the slightly older male would bring back sometimes and wanted to pick out her own. That was understandable seeing as how not everyone would like scallop and mayo flavored potato chips…personally he _hated_ the stuff. The other male had a unique palette, that was for sure, and he almost wondered of he could stomach the bizarre things Tieria came up with sometimes. Just because you put something in a pan or blender did not make it 'food', but apparently the second youngest didn't know this. Hallelujah said that the other male's cooking could screw over even the toughest of stomachs, though it would seem that the 'younger' Haptism was the only person who could actually keep Tieria's 'new' cooking down.

Sighing a little he told the slightly older male to just bring him back a box of pocky, and with a loud 'we'll be back soon!' he along with the sole female member left him alone. Alone…he didn't mind the feeling, it was just that Lichty's studio felt somewhat small with just him inside it. It was slightly funny since most people thought the opposite when confined in such a space, but he wasn't like most people. The walls felt so close, and even as he worked he couldn't shake the feeling that he was suffocating slightly. The youngest didn't like being alone…but it was something he had to deal with because there would always be situations where no one would be around. He was such an interesting person…too many people would cause him to feel anxious, while on the other hand no one around would send him into an almost depressed state. He was the kind of person that needed balance, and when that balance was thrown off his world was thrown into disorder.

But he continued on working despite this, knowing that there another reason for him staying. Someone needed to let the new guy in incase he came. The slightly younger male might've said 'we'll be back soon', but that was not always the case. He liked to take his time, and with Liu Mei there of course she's tried to deny him of everything he picked up. If he had gone with them and the new guy did come they'd have to wait outside, and given how hot it was it would've been downright evil to make someone wait. Setsuna wasn't a cruel person to people he didn't know.

He wasn't quite sure how long he'd been working, because counting the 'ticks' of the _One Piece_ clock on the wall was not an accurate way to tell time, but his head jolted over to the door upon hearing a few knocks. It was probably the new guy…that or Lichty had spent his entire month's pay on the crap in the convenience store and needed some help bringing it in. If that was the case he'd seriously needed to kick some sense into him…Placing his marker down he walked over to the door, stretching as he did so. If it was indeed the new guy he hoped they'd continue to make the slightly older male's work a success, but upon opening the door the only thing he felt like doing was punching the person standing before him square in the jaw. That was one option…the others that popped into his head were to close the door and let the asshole die from dehydration, or, and this was the one he_ really_ didn't like, act like an adult and tell his concerns to Lichty who would hopefully fire their ass.

The youngest, unfortunately, decided to act like an adult.

"My…Fate truly does want us to be together."

Setsuna choose to ignore that statement…only because his urge to kill was already at a high, and any more stimulation would send him over the edge. He didn't say a word as the other male entered the room, didn't even look over at him as he took his seat and continued working. There was no denying that he could still feel his presence since he was, in fact, sitting _right next to him_…but he choose to continue on working like he previously was. It really didn't last long…It only took about five minutes before his pen remained stationary as he listened to the very unromantic ramblings of Johann, eyes still focused on what he was supposed to be doing all the while.

He had never felt so close to blowing up since the middle Trinity sibling stole his ring. He tried to continue as he listened to the other male say that he 'missed him' and that they should 'go out together later on' (wasn't going to happen), but he knew that if things continued on the way they were he'd unintentionally take it out on Lichty's color pages. 'Being pissed off' was not a good reason for him to redo them over again in his mind. Letting out an aggravated sigh he turned to the other male, his hand telling him to punch the shit out of him for even being there, but his head told him that there was no way for him to clean up the mess before the other two got back. Setsuna slowly, _calmly_, told the person sitting next to him to 'shut the fuck up' because he needed to work. Just because he was acting civil didn't mean his mouth had to be. After a very quick silence the other male laughed slightly, commenting that he liked his straight forward attitude. Coming from him that was not something he wanted to hear…but he did agree so shut up.

This did not stop him from staring.

"Lichty keeps his manga in the bookcase near his desk, stop staring at me and go read until he comes back…"

"But you're much more interest-"

"I don't care. I'm busy. You're disturbing me. End of story." Setsuna said, annoyance practically dripping from his voice.

"Do you treat your boyfriend like this? Or your husband for that matter?"

He was treading on dangerous ground now…Slowly placing his pen down the youngest reached into the drawer next to him as the other male continued on, commenting that he really should've been fine having a third lover since he already had two. Not that again…He was so sick and tired of people finding out that he was with two different people, and end the end finding they needed to add their two cents about his relationship. What the hell did they what him to do? Dump one of them without a second thought and feel no remorse or pain? Had he actually been with either of them out of pity that would've been quite easy to do, but since he wasn't that option would never be available to him and he was fine with that. There was probably a time, far in the past when he and the Dylandy twins were young, that he could've pushed someone aside…but that time had long since passed.

There was no denying that he was…happy with the way things currently were, and there was no amount preching that told him that his happiness was 'wrong' that could change his mind. The last person he wanted to hear anything from was the eldest Trinity…what did he know? How could he give him any kind of flack when he knew nothing about his life? That pissed him off even more. Pulling out the box cutter that was used to open the packages his boss sometimes received from home (he was originally from Bieil, Hokkaido, so he was a LONG ways from home) he lunged forward, stopping the blade mere inches away from the other male's right eye.

"Look…you can say anything you want to about me, but don't you dare talk about the people in my life…" Setsuna began, voice never wavering once, "This time around things are going to be different… you're going to let me work in peace, and when it comes to any kind of 'interaction' outside of the work place between you and me the possibility is zero…understand?"

"S-Setsu, really, put the box cutter down-"

"My name is Setsuna F Seiei, only my friends are allowed to address me with nicknames. You are not my friend, merely an annoyance, and as such you will address me as 'Seiei-kun' or 'Seiei-san'. If not we will have a huge problem…"

To further prove his point he shoved the blade into the other male's mouth, the slightest twitch would undoubtedly cut the inside of his mouth.

"And we don't want any kind of problems, do we?"

That did the trick. Though it was slight Johann managed to nod, and as much as he disliked it the younger male removed the box cutter from his mouth. Going back to his work he didn't hear another word from the other male nor for that matter did he feel his eyes on him…Setsuna couldn't help but give a small smile of victory. It was about five minutes later that the slightly older male returned with Liu Mei, each of them carrying their own bag filled with snacks. He noticed an odd look on Lichty's face, which he did expect since the air in the studio was clearly different form when he had left. He must've ignored this fact upon realizing there was an extra body in the room. It was them that the slightly older male spent a good portion on the time talking to the eldest Trinity, or at least trying to since he would only comment with muffled answered. He was scared…good.

It this particular situation it truly was better to be feared than loved.

* * *

"Okay, what the hell is wrong with my cat?"

He really felt he'd been asking that question for too goddamn long. Hallelujah didn't really think much about the heath of his cat, mainly because the damn thing had never shown any signs of any kind of sickness in the past. But now something was genuinely wrong with it…He noticed it about a week ago, and the 'elder' Haptism was so startled by the felines sudden change that he contemplated getting it checked out.

The first thing he noticed was the white cat actually enjoying Tieria's company, which did alarm him to a certain degree. Neko hated the second youngest. Why? He didn't know, but if he had to guess it probably had something to do with his glasses. As stupid as it sounded it did hold some truth, and to test his theory he had his brother put on the other male's glasses and deal with the cat. Needless to say he was proven correct when Allelujah was given a rather nasty scratch to his leg, as well as said feline in question avoiding him for the remained of the day. Was it stupid that his cat hated glasses? Of course it was! But goddammit it was _his_ cat, and he had the right hate whatever inanimate object it wanted to! Hallelujah liked the fact that his pet wasn't normal, so when he began seeking attention from the second youngest he couldn't help but inwardly grimace. What the hell was the matter with it? Sure cats were supposed to purr when scratched behind the ear, or rub up against the person who was giving them affection, but…not _his_ cat.

_His_ cat was supposed to be the terror of the town, _his_ cat was supposed to send people running the moment they saw it. Sure if he wanted the same outcome he could've gotten himself a big dog, but it was much more entertaining seeing people run from a creature not even half their own size. Besides his brother had told him that the bigger the dog the nicer the disposition usually was, and the last thing he wanted to be walking around with was a Chihuahua…he hated those things. Hallelujah didn't want an animal that made more noise than he did. That was the exact reason he liked cats more than dogs; dogs were loud creatures by default, constantly yapping at the slightest things for no apparently reason. They were also too goddamn obedient, something that had always irked him even when younger. Cats on the other hand had a certain air about them, one that read 'I don't give a fuck' and how could he not like that? Cats didn't take orders from anyone, and if ordered around they would merely scoff and act as if you hadn't said a word to them.

He loved cats…specially his cat, but what the hell was the matter with it? Another thing he noticed that alarmed him was how fat it had become, so much so that it didn't even bother to do much during the day. The 'elder' Haptism usually let the feline out whenever it scratched on the door or window, but it didn't even do that. At first he thought that it had just gotten old, since the two of them had been together for quite some time and he really wasn't sure of the life-expectancy for a cat. He could've asked his brother but it would've pissed him off if he learned his pet only had another year to live. But that didn't seem to be the problem…it just didn't. His goddamn cat was annoying him! But he choose to ignore it for an entire week, because he thought it would get better (somewhat…maybe not the fat thing) if he did.

But things became worse…so there was only one thing to do…take him to Allelujah because it was free. Waiting truly was the worst, and it had always been even when he was younger. He remembered one time when his impatience got the better of him, and it was obviously one of the absolutely idiotic things he had ever done when younger. It was the day before summer break in the village and the last class of the day, so obviously he wanted to get the hell out of there as fast as he could. The only problem was the clock on the wall really liked to screw around with his head, and every time he looked over at it he swore that damn thing never moved! It was mocking him…he knew it was. He was seriously starting to get restless and tapping his pencil against the table didn't help, so much so he ended up breaking it just to stop himself. It didn't help AT ALL that he was seating right next to the window where he could see the freedom he was being denied, which not only pissed him off but made him curse out loud…well sort of.

There was nothing wrong with saying '_oh my fucking god, why?_' in a crowed classroom, right? Personally he didn't think so since he was only being vocal about what everyone was already thinking, so therefore it wasn't horrible to do. His mouth did this quite often, spouting of the things that other people were afraid to. He didn't understand why people looked at him like he was crazy because of the things he said…they were thinking it too. Who cares if it was impolite or wrong, if someone had something to say they should've said it, but as always he seemed to be the only person who thought this. The 'elder' Haptism's teacher though otherwise, and maybe it was because of their yelling but the next thing he did was scream 'screw you, you old bat!' before completely bolting out of the room. Running seemed like a much better option than taking another visit to the principal's office again, and hell, the guy needed a break from him anyway. Just where he was going he wasn't sure off, but his feet told him to keep going straight as soon as he ran out of the back door.

This was when his idiocy kicked in…For some reason he just had to look behind him, knowing there was no one there but still needing to check because, hell, everyone did. But everyone did not run face first into a goal past, knocking themselves out on impact. He wasn't quite sure how long he'd been out, but upon waking up in the nurse's office with a bloody nose he knew he was in trouble. It didn't help that the school had called his mother, who would not stop crying because she thought he was 'dead'. What a wonderful way to make him feel like shit…Hallelujah's punishment was to send a week of his summer break at school in detention, and to further screw him over the teacher he called an 'old bat' would be supervising him. Was it worth it in the end? Hell fucking no! Even if it was a week he didn't want to spend it in that hellhole! It was another reason to hate his spontaneous nature, something he really couldn't control.

But that didn't mean he wanted to change himself. There was nothing wrong with being hyper or eccentric or unruly, and anyone that told him otherwise could've kissed his ass because they didn't understand. There was nothing wrong upstairs, he didn't need to take any pills or see a doctor, it was just who he was. The world just couldn't handle him so therefore others feared people like him, it was annoying but he dealt with it regardless. It would've been rather pretentious to say that he was special and that there was no one else in the world like him, but since he had never met anyone else like himself he would just settle for the only one in Osaka. That didn't sound that bad…he was the special little butterfly that everyone else was envious of.

Okay, he'd admit that sounded fucking stupid…

While waiting he had his feline companion next to him, looking so goddamn pitiful that it was a bit hard for him to look at it. The 'elder' Haptism wanted his old cat back…so much so that he almost felt like crying. _**Almost**_…He knew Neko could've handled anything, but he wasn't quite sure if it could handle whatever was going on in its body. Reaching over he held it close, scratching under its chin and making it purr. Even that sounded weak. God he felt like shit…not only did he feel so goddamn helpless, but he hated how the feline in his arms was looking at him. It was practically screaming at him 'help!' but there wasn't a thing he could do, and that made the center of his chest tighten up. He seriously was not the type to worry excessively, but his head began to hurt with all of the uncertainties that were swimming around it. Hallelujah was sure his head would implode if he didn't stop himself. But as soon as he heard the door open he pushed the cat into his brother's face, asking him rather loudly _'Okay, what the hell is wrong with my cat?'_

"Er…I can't tell by just looking at it, Hallelujah." His brother said as he picked up the feline, scanning it with his eyes as he did so.

"Then look it over, it's been acting weird for a while…"

"For how long exactly?"

Thinking back he went with when he actually noticed the weight gain, which was a few months ago. Upon being told that he should've seen a vet earlier, which was true, he merely gave the other male a loud 'tch'. He watched as his brother laid the sick cat on the couch, thus beginning his 'examination'. Maybe he should've taken Neko to an actual professional, but this would've been a good way for Allelujah to gain more experience. He could've help but notice how tired his cat looked, and truth be told he seriously thought it was going to keel over at any second. But he kept all of his feelings revered until his brother was done…which was rather hard to do. Expression was one of the things he thrived on, so for him to hold himself back took a lot of restraint, maybe more than he was willing to deal with. But getting mad or screaming wasn't going to help his cat at all, so he shut his mouth and waited. As the 'younger' Haptism's face paled there was only one thing on his mind…

Death. Neko was going to die, and he could've easily prevented if he had just taken the damn thing to the vet earlier. His head was spinning around now, so much so that he had to take a seat. It didn't help that when he heard the other male yell 'c-congratulation!' because that just pissed him off…who the hell said that when a animal was dying? What kind of vet-in-training was he? Did they teach that in vet school? If so he really needed to pull his brother's ass out of there. Hallelujah was pretty damn close to hitting him, but his lightheadedness prevented him from moving around too much. God he'd probably have to bury the feline, given that putting it in a plastic bag and just throwing it away would've been cruel. Neko also deserved much more than that…Neko was his friend and didn't deserve some half assed funeral. It was a bit sad but he was sure it knew him better than anyone else, only because the cat was the only thing he'd actually been open with.

But right in the middle of his self mourning he felt a hand roughly strike his face, his brother telling him that he 'didn't have time to be zoning out', which brought him back to reality and the killing rage he'd been holding back finally released itself. His normal reaction when someone hit him was to hit them back, so that mixed with his pissed off state made one hell of a nasty combo. Luckily before his fist could collide with his brother's face, a mere sentence managed to stop all of his rage and replace it with a feeling of sheer horror. His cat was female, she was apparently pregnant and was about to have her litter at any second. Neko was a girl, fine okay, he'd accept that…Neko was pregnant, though he had a little trouble with it since he wanted to break the shit out of whatever other cat had knocked her up, but he still accepted it…Neko about to squeeze out a few kids _at that very moment_, THAT scared the shit out of him. It truly was a relief to know that his cat wasn't dying, but what the hell was he supposed to do?

The only 'birth experience' he had was watching a god-awful video of some woman giving birth while he still attended high school, but that didn't even count since they were two completely different species. As soon as he heard his brother start barking orders at him there wasn't much he could do but comply; he pretty much just ran around the house gathering what he was asked to, and preying to every deity he could think of to make sure he didn't faint. Birth was supposed to be a nasty thing, it wasn't clean or quick and he really wasn't sure he'd be able to handle watching life rolling out of his cat. But he'd try…or at least try not to vomit too quickly. He along with his brother created a 'nest' for Neko, which really was nothing more than a cardboard box he found filled with toilet paper. She did look comfortable, but since he wasn't fluent in 'cat body language' he really couldn't say for sure.

"Okay…so now what?" He asked the 'younger' Haptism, not completely sure if he was entirely aware of what to do in such a situation.

"Well…" His brother started, "Talk to her."

How? If he meant coaching what the hell was he supposed to say?

"Um…you can do it?"

That sounded so lame…He really wasn't the encouraging type, at least not in the way most people were use to. So maybe he needed to coach her in his own away…Reaching down he began to stroke her head, noting the purr she gave off as he did so. He began to tell her that she was going to get through her ordeal, because she was his cat and his cat got through anything. She wasn't going to die on him…because she was Neko Haptism, evil cat that hated glasses and that was so temperamental that most decided to stay away from her.

Yeah…that sounded like something he'd say, and Neko apparently liked it too since she weakly touched his hand with her paw. His cat was going to be strong…but that didn't necessarily mean he had to. As soon as he saw something peeking out of the feline's rear-end his stomach dropped; here it was…the moment he hadn't been looking forward to because he knew he couldn't handle it. For god's sake there was about to be a living creature emerging from his goddamn cat, how the hell else was he supposed to react? Was he supposed to be all giggles and ha-ha's? THAT would've been strange. But Hallelujah braced himself for what he was about to see…and by 'braced' he was literally bracing himself against the couch. And then it happened…he saw something slip out of his cat, and he wasn't quite sure of he could call it a kitten. It looked more like a ball of mucus than anything else.

"Um…how many of these things is she supposed to have?" He asked his brother reluctantly.

"Anywhere from one to eight."

That was very vague…but things did seem to move faster when one passed the fuck out. After witnessing another 'blob' emerge from the female cat followed by what he was sure was afterbirth (so…GROSS), his mind told him to basically 'shut the fuck down' so he did. The 'older' Haptism wasn't quite sure how long he was out, but damn did he wake up feeling refreshed. Groaning as he picked his ass up from the floor he found an odd noise coming from the cardboard box where Neko was located, and the only thing he hoped was that when peering inside he was not given a vision of horror. Luckily someone was looking out for him…Though it was still one hell of a mess to look at, at least the creatures inside of the box actually resembled kittens. There were three small ball of fluff curled up with his cat, all of them whining and all of them looking as if they were not related to his own feline.

There was one white one, but its tail was completely black so he really couldn't call it a perfect 'twins'. The other two had the same tortoiseshell-ish pattern, and upon really looking at one of them he could see that there was definitely a patch of fur that looked like…what was the name of the yellow rat on TV again? Pikachu? Yeah, that's what it looked like, Pikachu. After a few seconds he managed to regain his senses and finally realized that he had no idea what the hell to do with three extra cats; sure he could've kept them since he was sure the landlord wouldn't have minded and it would certainly make Neko (and him) happy, but that was going to be a lot more mouths to feed. His normal income left a little extra for useless spending, meaning he could easily take care of the three new felines without much of a hassle. Now what the hell was he going to call them? Thing One, Two, and Three, just didn't seem right…plus Neko would kick his ass.

Reaching down he hesitantly picked one up, notching that it fit perfectly in the palm of his hand. God was it small…It sounded like a squeaky toy as it cried out, and as soon as it stretched out its little paws he thanked god that no one was in the room because he was sure he was blushing very slightly. Neko wasn't even that small when he found her, but then again Neko was not a newborn. Slowly placing it back down he found a warm feeling suddenly overtaking him…he was a father now. Obviously he wasn't the person who knocked up his cat (he seriously was going to kill whatever cat did it), but he was the male in her life so therefore he was the father. Hallelujah was sure there was some kind of different between being a caretaking for animal and humans, but there was one universal fact that would stand the test of time…he'd have to love. But maybe 'have to' sounded like he'd he forcing himself to do something he didn't want to.

No…he'd love them unconditionally, because he was a good papa.

"Oh, you're up. Allelujah said you passed out after watching your cat give birth." Tieria said as he walked in, a small bag tucked under his arm which was probably filled with all the new stuff he'd 'cooked' and there would be forced upon his stomach. Great…

"Yeah I passed the hell out, get it out of your system already so I don't have to hear about it later…" He said somewhat muttered, knowing that the second youngest obviously had something to say. His manhood had officially been screwed over by his action, further proving this point he heard the other male laugh at him slightly.

"So how bad was it-?"

"It was like watching an alien crawl out of the ass of my cat, what the fuck else is there to tell?"

Yup, that pretty much summed everything up…Sitting down next to him the second youngest asked if he had thought up and names for the 'new additions', to which he merely shook his head. He didn't want to call them something stupid, because 'Neko' was pretty much the most uncreative named he'd ever given anything. He was basically just calling his cat 'cat'. When given the suggestion of naming them after famous people he shot the other male a look, one that read 'you must be kidding me'. That was so common…his cats deserved uncommon names.

"Oh, one of them has a Pikachu spot. Call him, um…Pikamaru or something like that." The second youngest said as he reached into the bag and pulled out a container of god knows what.

"I guess so- WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" The 'elder' Haptism screeched as he held his nose, not completely sure just what his senses had gotten a whiff of.

"It's homemade natto."

"Natto is not supposed to smell like that…now close the lid before you kill someone!"

Regardless of this fact he'd probably still have to eat it…


	24. The Revenge Chapter

Something was wrong…_very wrong_. His body wasn't acting like it should, and as time passed he knew that something needed to be done to get it under control. This was probably what he wanted…probably what he had been planning for so long and he managed to play right into that bastard's hands. What the hell was the matter with him? He knew what kind of person Johann Trinity was, but seemed to overlook the fact that he just _might_ be out of his mind and try to some so completely batshit insane to get what he wanted.

Setsuna knew exactly where he went wrong, and if he ever traveled back in time he'd seriously kick himself for being stupid and maybe a little too trusting. Two months ago everything was fine, his life was normal and he didn't really have any worries…well other then the approaching date for Comiket. It was rather nerve racking, and it didn't help at all when Christina called him asking if he was still working. Yes, he was…he wasn't just going to stop right in the middle of doing something without a reason. Not to mention it would've been completely selfish of him to do so since he wasn't the only person involved, and it really did seem to mean a lot to the others. The only thing he was really worried about was the printing cost, since the four of them had yet to come up with a number of copies that were to be sold. If they printed a thousand copies and sold them for six-hundred and fifty yen, the total income would one thousand six hundred and fifty yen and divided between the four of them would leave four hundred and twelve-ish yen. That was a pretty general estimate, but in the end he was sure they'd profit and manage to pay their printing fees.

But in the end profit came second and having fun came first, because he didn't want to turn something like making a doujin into actual work. He ended up telling Lichty about what he was doing, who suggested that he set up a website and a Pixiv account to advertise and boost sales. He wasn't completely sure about posting his work online since people were pretty damn opinionated there, but that didn't stop him from trying it. The Pixiv account was pretty easy to deal with since he just needed to sign up and upload pictures, but then came making the website…Now Setsuna would admit that he wasn't the most tech-savvy in the world, but he really shouldn't have been that hard trying to set up one goddamn website. He spent a good two days trying, but in the end had to ask for help from Feldt since she already had one of her own. She mostly just posted fanart she made from video games on it, as well as the photos she sometimes took when walking around town.

It took her an hour to set the thing up and make it look 'pretty' enough to attract attention, and as a bonus she even added him as one of her bookmarks. Having tech-savvy friends really was helpful in such a day and age. It was a bit sad when he decided to watch the traffic counter on his website for a good portion of the day, telling himself out loud that it was merely for research but knowing deep down that curiosity had gotten the better of him. Traffic was slow…which was alright, but it did weight heavily on his mind until later that night. Not that, you know, it was important or anything. It took a week for the traffic to pick up, and by that time he'd already made twenty submissions. Upon showing his boss the newly made site the traffic seemed to increase, and he was sure the comment he left there had something to do with it. Anyone could post as many comments as they wanted on the blog section of the website, and the slightly older male took his chance pretty much spam the damn thing every five minutes.

He was sure Lichty had work to do…

Liu Mei also seemed to take interest in his website, and though she didn't post as much as their boss she still liked to put an excessive amount of emojis in her posts. She also suggested he add an R-18 section to attract more 'fans', which he turned down without missing a beat. Sure there was a slight scene in the doujin he was drawing, but it was so implicit that technically it should've been rated R-15 more than anything else. Since he was curious, a male and hormone driven of course he liked to dabble in porn from time to time…when no one was around of course. But the strange thing about him was that he really couldn't get fully…_aroused_ when watching or reading it. Sure things came to attention, but even if the younger male got off he didn't really feel satisfied in the end. He came to the conclusion that assistance was needed to really feel 'good' in the midst of pleasure, not that there was anything wrong with that.

The Shinjuku girls visited his apartment more often, usually baring gifts of sweets. According to them cake, pudding, and other assortments of confectioneries were an important part of the diet, and also served as brain food. Not wanting to upset them he allowed them to believe that little delusion, and he was sure that if he popped their bubble they wouldn't bring over any more sweets. Most of them here homemade, and it was nice to actually taste something made by another's hands. Sure the Dylandy twins attempted to make him chocolates from him on White and Valentines Day, but he really didn't like the taste of burn chocolates. Setsuna couldn't hate them for it; in fact he was rather grateful that they at least attempted to do something nice for him from scratch rather then cop-out slightly and buy him something. It was…sweet.

The only person who really didn't say anything to him about his future endeavors was the oldest Trinity sibling, which was completely alright with him. The less interested he was the less Setsuna had to deal with, and it really made working with him fairly easy. The only time the two of them 'interacted' was when there was a slight rush to get something done, but there was no playful banter or light conversation between the two of them like he usually did with the others. It was strictly professional between the two of them. The two of them actually broke this routine when they were at the train station, the other male usually trying and failing to initiate a conversation about how he thought the day went. His threat from earlier did the trick without a doubt, but maybe he should've been a little more threatening so he didn't talk to him at all. That probably would've been overkill. Truth be told he really didn't like becoming violent nor did he believe he had an extremely short fuse…people just drove him to do things he normally won't.

People didn't need to know about his nasty side, because if they did he'd be perceived as even more of an outcast. Being introverted, blunt, and an otaku already earned him enough points, so the last thing he wanted was to add extremely violent to that list. While he did regard Johann as nothing more than an annoyance sent to him by some pissed off deity, he really couldn't deny that the other male had talent. It was probably the only aspect about the much older male that he liked, because the last thing he wanted was for the oldest Trinity to annoy him and bring his boss down. His usefulness might have been the only redeeming quality he had in the younger male's eyes, but even that wasn't enough to warrant the two of them becoming anything more than just employees under the same boss.

Clearly Lichty found his behavior around the oldest Trinity to be a little odd, so what did he do? Invite them all to go drinking, because 'drinking made friends for life' according to him. Much like Christina and Feldt he allowed him to believe such a delusion. The day the four of them were supposed to go out was pretty slow, which usually happened whenever the slightly older male turned in a chapter. Because he didn't want to overwork them, after every chapter was turned in the slightly older male gave everyone a day off. At first he thought it was a horrible idea when he first worked with the other male, but found that hanging out with Lichty was rather enjoyable. He knew a lot of good places that truly were worth staying out all night just to be in, though the younger male usually only lasted until one in the morning. Setsuna was not the partying type, not at all, but he was willing to become one temporarily if it meant having a good time with a friend. But there were always a consequence for his actions…and that would've been feeling like absolute crap the next morning.

He just couldn't keep up…but for social reason he tried. Lyle suggested that he try sleeping during the day so his body had enough energy to deal with the 'night crowed', which of course he knew a lot about. The only problem with that idea was that the youngest actually had stuff to do during the day, but that wasn't to say the twin couldn't have taken care of it themselves. He just, you know…didn't like doing _nothing_. But he tried the suggestion regardless of this fact. For some reason he really disliked sleeping in bed when the sun was up, so he usually resorted to taking refuge on the couch. It was slightly uncomfortable and usually ended up hurting his back, but it was the only place in the house where he could sleep during the day. It did take some getting use to since his body was constantly telling him that something needed to be done, which left him restless and slightly annoyed. He tried relaxing and letting whatever was keeping him awake out of his mind, but what finally did the trick was making himself a cup of milk tea before actually going to sleep.

Apparently it was the only thing that could put him to sleep when his mother had difficulty doing so when younger, so to get the exact recipe he had to call her. Well…it wasn't really 'exact' since a pinch really didn't count as a measurement. It took him a few tries but he did manage to get the taste he wanted…but apparently to everyone else it was a bit too strong. How strong? Enough to make it so Lockon won't wake up no matter how hard he hit him, resulting in the younger male having to call the school he worked at and tell them he'd be missing a day. Different bodies, different reaction was what he decided to go with, and the next time he made sure to dilute the tea when he gave it to his husband. When actually asleep he felt rather peaceful, and his dreams seemed to reflect this since they too were rather pleasant. But like clockwork, no matter how comfortable he felt, an hour before he actually needed to meet everyone he was up.

The youngest didn't own too many nice 'going out' clothes, or rather he didn't own too many clothes deemed worthy of going out with people he worked with. He could've borrowed clothes from the twins, but they were far too big and would without a doubt look baggy on him. This was the usually why he only wore clothes that belonged to the twins to sleep, because they were long and baggy enough to make him feel comfortable while asleep. They were not going out clothes…So to deal with this problem a day before the actual meeting he went shopping with Tieria and Lilith. He choose those two because they were at lot less extreme when it came to shopping unlike two other people he knew from Shinjuku, and his arms hurt a lot less since he wasn't constantly tugged in two different direction at once. Sure the Haptism's mother was a little enthusiastic, but he could at least handle her.

She was energetic and fashionable, which came in handy because Setsuna had no idea what was 'in'. He didn't read fashion magazines because he found them boring, and most of the time the articles were about the same thing. But he knew that most people who read those magazines were considered 'normal', while he, along with other people, who were seen reading things like manga or _Weekly Shonen Jump _in the bookstore were considered 'weird'. It didn't bother him so much since he was enjoying himself…but he could not say the same for shopping for clothes. It was probably because he was picky as all hell that he hated it, but nothing seemed to catch his eye. The three of them spend a good while in the mall just looking for clothes, and by the time they actually did leave it had become dark outside. Yes, he could've easily picked up the first articles of clothing he saw, but that just didn't seem right. Was he sorry for keeping the two of them out so long? Of course, but Lilith didn't mind and the second youngest went along with her.

Getting ready took a little bit of time, mainly because he didn't want to mess anything up. The youngest even went so far as to wash his hair for the second time that week, a habit that usually wasn't broken unless something extreme happened to his hair. Once a week was enough for him, but since this was indeed a special occasion he even bought himself new shampoo. It smelled of coconut, something he really didn't eat often but did enjoy the aroma of. The twins too took a liking to it, commenting that he smelled 'good enough to eat'…which they gladly would've done if he gave them the chance. But he was supposed to be going out not staying in and getting screwed all night…that would've been saved for a later date. The place he was supposed to be meeting everyone was about thirty minutes away by train, and it was supposed to be a nice bar that Lichty found on the way home from shopping. He never once indicated that he had actually gone inside, but since it was Lichty who found it he trusted that something horrible wasn't going to happen to any of them.

Upon boarding the train Setsuna instantly text messaged the slightly older male, telling him that he was on his way. His boss wasn't like Christina and didn't possess lighting fast texting skills, so he received a reply a little later (five minutes to be exact). Riding the train at night was a little different…though it was still somewhat packed it had a completely different feel to it, and the night crowed obviously had something to do with it. They were a lot rowdier than the day crowed, that was sure, and it just seemed a lot more relaxed. Even if it was rather noisy, the youngest decided that it was probably better that he got use to it rather than complain. Night life was a loud life, and if he wanted to keep up he needed tolerate it or risk becoming antisocial. He really didn't want that…The youngest really did enjoy hanging out with his friends, and didn't want to be bound to his apartment for the rest of his life.

After leaving the train he found himself in a part of town he usually didn't visit, only because he really saw no reason to. It was crowed like he thought, filled with people wearing colorful clothing that was only reserved for when they went out. The air was in intoxicated smell of yakitori and curry, and because he had been exposed to it for so long he was sure there was takoyaki mixed in there somewhere. Summer was just around the corner thus explaining the humidity, and he was rather pleased to be wearing clothes his body could breathe in. Since summer was approaching there were a lot of festivals to look forward to such as Tanabata and Obon. Lockon and Lyle _loved_ Tanabata because they found it so 'horribly romantic'…and truth be told it really was. The whole festival was supposed to celebrate the meeting between the lovers Vega and Altair, who could only meet during the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. There was something in the legend about the two being separated by the Milky Way and something about raining and magpies helping Vega cross to get to Altair, but he couldn't remember the whole thing by heart.

The Dylandy twins without a doubt did.

From the train station it didn't take long to reach the bar, direction texted to him by Lichty the day before. After actually arriving at the bar he found it small, which was expected since it promoted interaction with other people one did not necessarily know. He was pointed in the direction of his meeting place by the bartender, and as he approached he could see he was the last person to arrive. He really didn't mind, but he was given 'punishment' by the slightly older male, which was just him paying for everything that was ordered. Liu Mei let her hair down for the outing, which came as a slight surprise to him since he had never actually seen it out of her usually twintails. This didn't change the fact that she was still flirtations, and upon thinking about it he was sure it was his fault for the whole thing. He remember quite vividly telling her that he had no interest in women in 'that' sense, and it was probably for that reason that she came on so strong. She really had no interest in him since she admitted to him that she was only attracted to 'older men like her brother' (which he found weird), so her actions were merely there to mess with him.

The oldest Trinity only said a small 'konbanwa' to him, and Setsuna wanted it to stay like that. Just because the two of them were together didn't mean a thing…and as much of a friend as Lichty was, he would try his damn hardest to negate any and all attempts the slightly older male made in getting the two of them to 'get along'. It just wasn't going to happen…He had a right to hate someone, and his reason was legit enough to keep the feeling going. Everyone at the table either ordered beer or sake with the addition of various fried dishes, some of which were a mixture of chicken organ that he himself would not normally eat. Before the questioning would start Lichty announced it was a 'game', the basic rules being that whoever ate the most skewers of meat won. That was a lot easier said than done… heart, liver, intestines and cartilage were just a few of the dishes placed in front of them, and Setsuna wasn't sure if he could keep down any of it. Granted the sauce that was glazed on them smelled quite nice, but that could not prevent his mind from constantly telling him that a heart was a goddamn _heart_. The loser of them game would receive 'punishment', and that punishment just happened to be being called a wimp for a week.

That didn't seem all that bad but he still didn't to lose…though there was a catch. There were certain things Setsuna would and would not do willing or intentionally, eating a plate of chicken organs he had never before eaten just happened to fall under the 'would not do' category. Apparently the other had the same mentality because none of them actually looked up to touching anything that was apart of the 'challenge'. Everyone simply stuck to their respected alcohols, and he was sure sometime down the line that someone would be drunk enough to actually touch the stuff. He considered himself a good drunk, basing this solely on the fact that that the people he usually drank with acted either like complete idiots or just flat out passed out. The Dylandy twins could take a lot of alcohol, but when it finally began to mess with their heads it was _very_ apparent. Both of them were clingy drunks, and could not keep their hands to themselves to save their lives. It was quite the sad sight since they were pretty much all over him, and at the same time annoying since he knew it'd take a crowbar to get the two of them off.

Hallelujah was loud when intoxicated, which didn't surprise anyone at all, but what actually did was the fact that he had never actually gotten into any bar fight while in such a state. When he was sober was a completely different matter, and most of the time it was some poor (and rather stupid) soul trying to hit on the second youngest that got the crap kicked out of them. On the other hand it really didn't take much for his brother or Tieria for that matter to pass out, and he felt bad that the 'elder' Haptism had to drag both of them back home by himself. Of course he was offered help by the others, but in the end they were cursed out rather harshly. Hallelujah probably thought it was his responsibility alone to take care of them, which was rather nice of him, though of course he'd never admit such a thing out loud.

Compared to them he fared pretty well, the only noticeable difference his body actually showed was a slightly more attentive state. It was because of this state that he became slightly more interested in what Johann had to say, seeing as how he was apparently a talkative drunk. Setsuna knew that it was _only_ because of the alcohol in his system that any kind of conversation with the eldest Trinity, he knew this for a _fact_, and whatever was said between the two of them would be forgotten the very next day…he'd make sure of it. So the younger male would allow him to have his small moment of bliss…because after it was over there wouldn't be another. While so deeply wrapped in what the other male was saying it occurred to him that he was consuming something, something that didn't taste quite right or familiar. His first instincts were to grab some type of liquid and wash the taste out of his mouth, which pretty much involved him downing too much sake. Victory really wasn't all that sweet…in fact it tasted grainy and tough. Because of his further intoxication he reached a new level of drunk that he only thought the others were capable of…

He was _**drunk**_…not tipsy, or buzzed…he was couldn't walk straight, composed a coherent sentence, blurry eye sight, _**DRUNK**_. Because of this state he was sure he couldn't continue on through the night, so when the youngest excused himself and when he didn't make it that far it didn't surprise him. What did was the fact that he didn't hit the floor, which did give him some relief because it looked like shit. When he was hoisted up onto someone back and asked where he live he tense up; he didn't like that voice…or the person who it belonged to. Because he felt so fatigued the amount of struggling he could muster up was minimal, and he really wished he could do more upon feeling the person holding him move. That wasn't good…Setsuna began to tell the eldest Trinity to put him down because he could 'make it home by himself'…which was a lie but the other male didn't need to know that.

When asked what he'd do if someone try to take advantage of him, the simply replied that he'd use drunken fist on them, which earned a small laugh from the other male. He really must've been drunk…he was making the other male laugh. After that he kept silent for the most part, only responding with a few single words when asked something. He really didn't like his current situation…he was being carried by the one person he detested and there really wasn't much he could do about it since he was completely immobile thanks to the alcohol running through his body. Worst case scenario was that he was taken into an alleyway and brutally raped, which would then lead to Johann immediate death because the Dylandy twins would without a doubt hunt him down and make sure he suffered. That didn't sound that bad…except for the whole rape part, but other than that he wouldn't really mind the events afterward.

But when the two of them stopped at the train station, the older male asked for his cell phone, a bunch of thoughts began to run through his head. The primary one was why the two of them had stopped if the train was boarding, and just why the other male was rummaging through his pockets. Before he could ask (not like he actually had the energy to) the eldest Trinity told him that if he didn't want him to know where he lived, he'd just have to call someone to pick him up. That meant…he'd be calling one of the twins…that wasn't good. He really didn't want either of them knowing he had gotten completely smashed, not because he thought that'd be mad at him but because he was sure they'd baby they hell out of him. Setsuna needed sleep not babying. He quickly went for his phone as the other male removed it from his pocket, but his reflexes had becoming that of jelly so he only managed to swat air. Goddammit…After hearing the much older male begin to speak on the phone he couldn't help but groan; it was probably Lockon he was talking to only given the fact that Lyle usually turned his phone off during work, so he was the one who would be picking him up.

That was going to be something…

He was placed down on the one of the benched a little ways out of the station, Johann asking if he wanted something to drink since there was a vending machine nearby. He looked at him for a moment, wearily of course, and declined before curling up into a small ball facing away from the other male. It was then the eldest Trinity told him that he 'wasn't that bad of a guy', which got his attention but didn't make him turn around. Yeah, flirting with someone obviously taken and stalking them (though only once, but that was enough) meant you weren't 'that bad of a guy'…it would take much more than just saying something like that to change his opinion of him. He was sure Johann acted differently when in different company, but the only 'Johann' he knew was the one he could not for the life of him stand. There was a chance for him to redeem himself, it being when the two of them 'reunited' in Lichty's studio, but he botched that attempt pretty quickly. Setsuna didn't _like_ hating people, in fact meeting and getting along with people was what he wanted since it would making him at least look less anti-social. But no…some people just made him push them away.

Upon being asked why he hated him so much the youngest felt like laughing. Really? He had to explain it? He put it as bluntly as possible, saying that he found his obsession with him 'annoying' and that he saw him as nothing but fake. Silence fell between the two of them, and the youngest wasn't sure if his answer had successfully shut the other male up. Of course he hadn't though…The eldest Trinity asked if there was a possibility of the two of them at least becoming friends if he wasn't 'fake' or 'obsessed' with him, to which the younger male gave off the small sigh as he began to think. If he didn't possess either of those qualities, maybe, and after telling him this Johann laughed, commenting that if it was so easy to earn his trust that he would've changed his ways sooner. Setsuna had never actually contemplated becoming friends with the other male, and truth be told he really didn't want to. There were some people he was sure he shouldn't be acquainted with, and the older male just happened to be one of them.

He wasn't sure when but he had managed to nod off, and after waking up slightly he found his husband speaking with his ride. He seemed to be getting along with the other male, though that probably had to do with the fact that the two of them were in the same class during collage. Because the younger male was pretty much still tired and was beginning to feel a headache coming on, Setsuna reached over and gently tugged on Lockon's shirt, instantly earning his attention. Closing his eyes he heard the two of say there goodbyes, and for the second time that night he felt himself hoisted onto someone's back. This time it was much more familiar and much more comfortable, and because he was in such a relaxed state he rubbed his cheek against his husband's neck before burying his face in his back. He pretty much fell asleep after that, and after waking up he swore to every deity he could think of that he would never drink so heavily again.

To put it simply…he felt like shit. As soon at the sun hit his face he instantly turned over, throwing the blanket over his head as he cursed under his breath. His head was throbbing so much that it became progressively worse when he moved, and it wasn't like he could really stay still since his body ached all over. Yes, what he did was completely stupid and he regretted it with every fiber of his being. He heard the door to his room open, and he thanked whoever it was that they closed it softly because loud sounds were not good for people with headaches (plus he probably would've killed whoever it was if they slammed the door). Upon feeling the bed shift the younger male instantly latched onto Lyle's waist, and the only reason he deducted it was him was the fact that it was Monday morning. But at least someone was home with him.

The older male told him that he needed to drink something to feel better, but Setsuna's stomach thought otherwise. He really felt like regurgitating whatever was in his stomach, and given the fact that he was wearing a completely different shirt he must've done so the night before. Sitting up slightly he took the bottle of fruit juice the other male had brought for him, hoping he'd keep it down. Luckily he did (with a lot of willpower), and upon finishing the entire bottle he plopped back in bed, turning over on his stomach as he did so. It did make him feel a little better, but that wasn't to say that he was cured…he still felt like shit. Lyle told him that Lichty had called and said for him to take the day off, adding that Johann had volunteered to visit him later on that day to fill him in on what he had missed. Great…why the hell did his boss have to allow that? The last thing he wanted was for the eldest Trinity to know where he lived…Pulling the other male down he told him point blank not to leave his side whenever Johann decided to came over, which did earn him a look from Lyle.

He wasn't going to tell him that the elder Trinity had messed with him in the past, so the youngest lied and said he merely needed someone to make sure he didn't hurt anyone (since he wasn't feeling that well after all). For the time being the two of them just lied in bed, because walking really did seem like a chore. He really didn't mind though since the older male must've at some point taken a bath and smelled rather nice, and as Setsuna buried his face in his chest he began to drown himself in it. He didn't smell like fruit or some mountain stream, he smelled…fresh, and it was that freshness that steered him into a relaxed state. It felt nice lying next to someone, the older male's heat comforting him even further and causing him to slow forget about his horrible state. When he heard Lyle trying to wake him, he knew…The youngest was the kind of person who usually pushed what he felt aside and did what he needed to, but that particular moment he really felt like blowing the whole thing off. But he couldn't…because it involved work, and the last he wanted to do was screw Lichty over because of his personal feelings.

Getting up (thank god he was able to) he quickly changed, not wanted the eldest Trinity to see him in his boxers. That would've been too much of a treat for him…He almost hesitated upon leaving his room, and he probably would've gone back to sleep if Lyle hadn't been there with him. Confronting Johann was the worst, not only because he had seen him completely drunk the night before but because he actually had to thank him for helping him. Setsuna wasn't a rude person by nature, so therefore he was completely obligated to thank whoever had helped him out…even if that person was the very one he could only tolerate because he had to work with him. Bowing a little (_very_ little) he gave the much older male a small 'thank you', to which he replied that it was 'no big deal'. No, it wasn't a big deal…what was big deal was the fact that the other male had actually_** touched him at all**_.

Deciding to move on the two of them began to talk about work, and it was the only time he actually felt (somewhat) comfortable around the eldest Trinity. Apparently the chapter their boss submitted came in third in the rankings, which was rather good given that their usual spot was unusually ranged from around rank five to seven. Lichty didn't mind these numbers since he was still in the top ten, and because of this Setsuna really didn't think much of their place. But coming in third was a huge step up, and it probably had something to do with the fact that their boss decided to change the main character's appearance. It was probably the only thing he disliked about Lichty's story, the fact that the main character looked too…ordinary. Granted he wasn't writing a shonen manga where the main is supposed to be set apart from the rest, but they definitely needed something to make them look like a main. The slightly older male obviously picked up on his flaw without anyone telling him and decided to change it, of course making it fit into the natural story line. That was talent.

The two of the talked for a little while, and the youngest couldn't help but think about how…different the eldest Trinity seemed when talking about his job. He didn't come off as fake when he spoke, but the skepticism inside of him said that it was merely him reacting to what he had said the night before. Anyone could've done it, acting as if there personality had done a complete one-eighty within a short amount of time, and it was precisely because of this fact that the younger male decided to keep his defenses up. There wasn't anything wrong with being cautious around the person someone wasn't fond of, though maybe wanting him to fall off a cliff was a bit much. Lyle really didn't seem to mind his presence at all, though there was the fact that he admitted that he never had a problem with the eldest Trinity in the past. But then again how could someone have a problem with another they've never really talked to…this, however, did not stop him from inviting the other to stay for dinner.

Of course he could've kicked the older male for saying something that stupid, but that would've exposed his true feelings of hate for Johann so he kept his limbs to himself. First he had to let him into the apartment and then he had to feed him? Someone must've been pissed off at him…He pretty much kept quiet for most the night, barely speaking to anyone, even to his own husband who came home a little later than usual. Apparently the parent of one of his students didn't come until three hours after all of the students were supposed to leave, so he volunteered to watch her until someone came for her. That was rather noble of him, though him coming back home and practically clinging to him most of the afternoon while complaining that he was 'tired' was a bit much. He overhead the eldest Trinity ask Lyle if his brother always acted in such a way, and it was then the youngest interjected that it was only 'most of the time'. Setsuna did not want either of the Dylandy twins answering such questions, only because they had the tendency to ramble on, usually about him…the other male didn't need to know anything personal about him.

While cooking Johann asked if he could in anyway help, adding that cooking for two other people did give him a little experience. This almost made the younger male cut his finger…he wanted to do…_**what**_? In that apartment he was the master of the kitchen, and how dare he try to intrude on his title. Keeping himself calm he told the other male that his assistance wasn't necessary, but didn't seem to persuade him. Now he was just trying to piss him off…Raising the knife he was using he pointed it at the other male, telling him rather sternly to back off. The eldest Trinity laughed a bit before agreeing, going back with the twins as he did so. The rest of the night was going to be hell, he just knew it…Upon actually finishing dinner, which just happened to be curry and rice, the youngest could easily say that his foul mood had deepened and it was all thanks to their 'guest'. Apparently Lockon and Lyle picked up on his irritation and asked what the problem was, but before he could say anything Johann answered for him. He told them that the youngest didn't like him, only because he had come on too strong in the past and was a bit flirtatious, and so he apologized for his behavior.

Why…would he tell them that? Wasn't he afraid of what would happen to him? He was just…so confusing…After finishing his little confession he laughed a little, saying that he thought his attraction to the younger must've been genetic since his own sister had a crush on him as well. Had Setsuna actually be drinking something he would've instantly spat it out in a rather comedic fashion. That had to be a lie…but as he listened to the other male explain how much Nena spoke about him it became increasingly clear that he was telling the truth. She had a really screwed up way of showing affection…When the eldest Trinity talked about his siblings he made them sound human, which was quite amazing since they were nothing but a terror to him. Johann really did seem to care about the terrible twosome, because he always seemed to smile or laugh when speaking about them. Maybe…if the situations had been different he could've been on better terms with the Trinities, but things just didn't seem to work in his favor.

But that was life…everyone was not meant to like everyone else, and there wasn't much point in trying to win everyone over. During the course of their dinner Setsuna began to notice how much his dislike for their guest began to diminish, though that wasn't to say that he had completely gotten over his feelings. The eldest Trinity wasn't touching him, wasn't flirting with him and wasn't talking about how the 'heavens had wanted them to meet' or something like that, he was just…acting normal. It was strange…and truth be told he wasn't sure how to react to the situation anymore. He was confused…so he excused himself from the table and left to try and get his head together. Leaning against the door to his room he tried to clear the confusion that had made itself horribly known. The person he hated was acting like an actual human, and there wasn't much reason for the youngest to act like he usually did. So then…how should he act?

He never once thought the other male was actually capable of doing something like that, so he didn't have a backup plan and therefore was at a loss of what to do. His mind automatically told him that it was all an act, and as such he should not fall for something like that since he knew the other male's true nature. But…something inside of his head told him that maybe it wasn't an act, that maybe Johann was trying to make up for his inappropriate behavior from the past. Both of these thoughts conflicted with one another, and just to get some relief he had to rubs his temples. Dealing with one person shouldn't have been so complicated, and he seriously hadn't had such a hard time deciphering one person since his first meeting with his husband. It took him awhile but he decided that it was probably best for him to just go with everything that was going on, and in the end determine if the other male was merely messing with him. Sighing a little he went back to the kitchen, telling everything before they asked that nothing was wrong.

After everyone had gotten through dinner Johann decided to leave, thanking the three of them for having him over before doing so. Even after leaving the younger male was still confused, and his confusion didn't leave him even as he came to work. The eldest Trinity stilled behaved like he did the day before, acting friendly and helping him out when he thought it necessary. Lichty noticed their change in behavior and announced (rather loudly) that his plan had worked, and the younger male really wasn't in a position to prove him wrong since it really did seem to have been a success. That annoyed him…only because he was sure his boss was never going let him live it down. Liu Mei really didn't say much the entire time she was there, instead she merely stared at the eldest Trinity as if accusing him of something. When he asked her if there was anything wrong, she merely smiled at him and answered 'no', adding that she found it 'sweet' that he was so concerned. Well…if anyone was staring at someone the way she was, yes, they too would be concerned.

When it was time to go the much older male asked if there was any chance of the two of them hanging out at his place, to which the younger male just stared at him blankly for a moment. In the past he would've gladly declined the other without so much of a second thought, but…now he wasn't sure what the hell to say. He watched as the eldest Trinity pulled what looked like a switchblade out of pocket, and it was then that his body automatically went into defensive mode. Instead of actually using the blade Johann merely handed it to him, saying that he could use it on him if things became out of hand. Who did that kind of thing? Well…obviously a person unsure of if they could keep their hands to themselves. Since he was presented with a way to defend himself (not that his own two hands were insufficient or anything like that) he really didn't see much point in declining…though just for precautions sake he called the twins and told them if he was not back in three hours that they needed to call the cops.

Surprisingly the other male didn't live that far from Lichty's studio, the two of them only having to take one stop before getting off. This made escaping, if necessary, very easy for him, and to make sure the other male didn't follow he'd 'immobilize' him (a swift kick to the groin always did the trick). The youngest spent a good amount of time figuring escape routes and what he could use to mortally injure the other male, and he was sure anyone in his position would do the same. Upon entering the older male's apartment he instantly had flashbacks to the ones the twins use to own; it was just about the same size if not smaller, and it seemed just as messy. But other than the clothes that sprawled along the floor and a few pieces of furniture here and there, it was pretty much bare. With a slightly nervous laugh Johann apologized for the small mess, admitting that he usually didn't have people over so he didn't bother to clean up.

Setsuna could tell…the room lacked a certain life to it, one all of the apartments the twins had ever rented out possessed since they had people over quite often. But the eldest Trinity's room just felt…naked. He never actually bothered to ask the other male if he was an otaku, or if he just took the job as an editor so he could flex his artistic skills. Given that there were no posters on the wall, no manga of any kind on the tiny bookshelf he had or DVD for that matter, the younger male was going to go with the latter option. Of course it wasn't a requirement to like manga to actually draw it, this fact given truth when he actually had to work with someone who flat out told him that they 'disliked manga and anime'. They were probably the most annoying person he'd ever had to work with, and the belittling didn't help at all.

The eldest Trinity rolled out a small table from his closet since they were apparently having dinner, and because the floor was so hard he gave him a small cushion to sit on. Since he was the guest, the younger male was apparently banned from the kitchen, something that had never happened to him before. He was the primary cook where he lived, so being 'banned' really wasn't an option. Sure the Dylandy twins could cook, but at least he got it done in one shot without wasting pots and pans. But the youngest accepted the fact that he was barred from the kitchen, though the feeling was slightly uncomfortable. He was just sitting there, watching as the other male cooked away with a slight smile on his face. Johann was probably happy that he had finally managed to get him into his apartment…but that was pretty much all that was going to happen. Sitting was slowly becoming uncomfortable so he decided to lie back, finding that the floor was indeed hard but it wasn't something he couldn't get use to. It was then he noticed a single framed picture on the bookshelf, but from where he lied he could not tell who the people in it were.

Because he didn't want to get up, finding that he had actually become content in his little spot, he took the easy way out and asked the other male. He looked back for moment before answering that it was him along with his siblings, and it was when the three of them had gone to the beach. Decided to finally sit up to have a better look, Setsuna found that he could hardly recognize any of the Trinity siblings…not because they looked so young, but because it was very apparently that they had dyed their hair. From the picture he could tell that they were naturally brunettes, and he guessed that they probably started dyeing their hair after entering high school. It as a pretty uncommon practice he'd come to learn, though he never once attempted it since he really couldn't see himself with hair that could rival any color in the rainbow.

The sound of something hitting the table softly drew his attention away from the photo (and it was only thing that he learned that he had been staring for quite some time), and upon looking back he found that the other male had finished with dinner. The only thing the younger male could actually recognize on the table was the kimchi and rice, which did discourage him a little. The eldest Trinity obviously noticed the strange look on his face, and with another nervous laugh told him that they were having Korean food. Ah, that was why…he rarely had Korean food, and when he did it was only sweets. It wasn't because he disliked it or anything, Setsuna just didn't like venturing too far away from the food he usually ate…it was a change thing. Johann continued to talk, adding on that his siblings would constantly beg their mother to make something Korean (since she was fine there) for dinner and upon her passing most of her duties were passed onto him, thus why he mostly cooked more Korean food rather than Japanese.

That was almost sad…He didn't know that the Trinity siblings had lost their mother, or that their father was such a useless deadbeat that rarely came around so it was really just the three of them. It was then that he realized that he really didn't know anything about the people he disliked so much, nor had he every bothered to learn. They were strangers, and maybe that was better for him, but the moment he began learning about the three a strange feeling began welling up in his chest. Regret…regret that he had hated someone without really knowing them. But he wasn't totally to blame since the three of them presented themselves as nothing more than annoyances…Shaking his head a little he had found that he had missed a little of what the other male had said, finding that Johann had changed to subject to what they were eating.

The dish was a soup called sundubu jjigae, and it was made with an assortment of vegetables and seafood, as well as tofu and a rather spicy chili powder called gochugaru. On top was a raw egg, and the younger was sure that if he stirred it around with the other contents of the bowl that it would cook. Yes, the soup was _that_ hot. It had a nice flavor to it, though the spice did take some getting use to. It took _a lot_ of heat for Setsuna to surrender to it, which was in stark contrast to the Dylandy twins who could barely handle habanero chips. Okay, anything with habanero in it would tear any normal person a part, so he'd give them that much…but they were still weak to too much spice. When the TV was turned on the younger male's interest instantly perked up since an anime he liked was on, though he wasn't quite sure if the other would keep it on the station and Setsuna really didn't feel he was in the position to ask. But surprisingly Johann kept it there, which prompted him to ask if the much older male liked anime. He merely nodded, which was expected, but when he said that he was a little embarrassed to actually go out and buy anything that astonished him slightly.

But he quickly got over his shock once he understood that some people were like that; even if they watched or read what they wanted from the comfort of their homes, the idea of going out and physically buying what they liked was frightening. Usually 'normal' people saw anything related to anime and manga as childish or perverted, and as such could not understand why someone over the age of eighteen would be interested in it…thus the stares and the comments started. Of course it had happened to him, the snarky comments were always when he decided to go buy something…but he paid them no mind. They weren't going to stop him from enjoy what he liked, and if they really had so much free time they should've invested it in something else. He told the eldest Trinity that there was nothing to be embarrassed about, which did earn him a small look from the other. The youngest ignored it. The two of them continued to eat and watch what was on; the awkwardness that filled the air upon Setsuna's arrival slowly began to diminish, but that didn't mean he'd be putting down his defenses any time soon.

When the younger male finally decided to leave he bowed a little and thanked the eldest Trinity, bracing himself every so slightly in case something happened to him in such a short amount of time. He merely smiled at him and said that it wasn't a problem, though upon asking if he'd liked to come over again Setsuna was once again driven into a confused state. Coming back…the time he spent there wasn't terrible, and he did enjoy the other male's cooking…but was it really something he'd get use to? Johann wasn't his friend…he was someone to be caution around and his friendly demeanor was probably just a ploy so he could do something horrible to him. However, the other male had plenty of opportunities to do so, from the moment the two of them left the train station to the moment the two of them sat down for dinner. He took none of them…and this was the precise reason for his confusion. What if he actually decided to come back? What if nothing actually happened to him in the long run? What if he becoming slightly more acquainted with the other male?

While his mind was going over what could've happened if he decided to be a little nice, his mouth apparently had other plans. He heard it say that he 'didn't mind', but his head was screaming that those weren't the right words. But what was done was done, and from that point on every Thursday he visited the eldest Trinity. As the younger male did so it became increasingly harder to deny that he was having…fun, and even harder to deny that Johann wasn't that bad of a guy. Hanging out with him in the middle of the night didn't make him what to run to the nearest police station; instead it was rather nice having someone older with him since the twins couldn't always be with him.

Lyle worked late and Lockon needed his sleep, so it didn't seem right to ask them to sacrifice their time to give him a little attention. He really did hate calling up his friends in the middle of the night, because they either had plans or were fast asleep, thus making his dilemma even greater…he was not going out by himself. But Johann always seemed to be free, which came in handy whenever he decided to stay out late. The eldest Trinity was pretty protective over him, always threatening anyone who dared drunkenly flirt with him whether if be on the streets on in a bar. 'It was merely something a friend should do' was what he told him, and strangely enough that did give him a sense of ease. The two of them never stayed out too late though since they both knew how hectic their jobs were, and the last thing Lichty needed was two sleepy artist. The two of them talked a lot more in the work place, but as they did so he found that the sole female member of their group began to speak to him less. It didn't seem like she was irritated with the two of them, instead it seemed like she was merely lost in thought. But why?

Little did he know that would've been the lest of his problems…Everything started when he got a phone call around eleven at night from Johann saying that one of the karaoke bar downtown was having a special, and since none one else returned his call he thought the two of them could go. It didn't seem like that much of a problem, and since both the karaoke bar and Lyle's job were in the same general area (it would've taken about thirty if he walked from one to another) he thought he might as well go with him. Setsuna had been to the other male's job as a customer only once, and it wasn't because he couldn't stand the sight of him flirting with other people…that was only half the reason.

The other half was that the older male could not function properly when his presence was there, this fact made perfectly true when the other male began to act nervous around him and the other tables he was supposed to serve. He was obviously afraid that if he said or did the wrong thing he'd get the crap kicked out of him, which wasn't true since it was his job to flirt. Lyle wasn't intentionally doing it, it's what he was paid to do, and so whatever amount of jealously the younger male felt was completely unwarranted. Though…there were a few girls he wanted to attack for getting too close to him…that was alright, right? After leaving the train the other male told him if he was out long enough he'd take him home during his break, to which Setsuna told him that it wouldn't be necessary. He didn't think he'd be out that late. The two of them parted ways, and as they did so he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him. Of course there here hundreds of people around occasionally glancing at him, but that wasn't it...it felt as if someone was looking _directly at him_. It was unnerving…

But he didn't turn around and instead chose to ignore the feeling he had, continuing on to his destination. Looking at it from the outside the bar looked rather large, and it must've just opened up since he did not remember something that large being there. New buildings were always going up while the older ones came down, the city constantly growing and changing with the times. He met the eldest Trinity outside, the two of them going in after having a small conversation. The building's interior was just as large as he thought it would be, and the reason for it was to accommodate both the public and private rooms. If one wanted to belt out a song in front of others all they needed to do was step up on stage and entertain the people at the bar, but for people who only sang in front of friends and family member (like the younger male) the private rooms came in handy.

Luckily he didn't need to tell the other male to get a room since he already had, and Setsuna found it rather spacious. There was a nice black vinyl couch against one of the walls that could easily seat at least ten people, and directly across from it was small stage with a flat screen TV behind it. On that stage were two stands with microphones just in case someone wanted to sing a duet or duel with another person, and the youngest was sure both things would happen at some point during that night. As he began to look through the rather large book of songs Johann decided to get the drinks, and because he really didn't think much of this action he merely waved him off as he left. Why didn't he go with him…at the time he didn't see anything wrong with it…The two of them spent a good two hours there, though not all of the time was spent singing. There were some pretty talented people in the building, and as he listened to them he continued to sip on every little thing the other male brought him from the bar.

It wasn't until hour two became three that he began to slowly regret this action…The first thing he noticed was how fatigued he felt, which he thought was due to the amount of alcohol he had consumed. But upon feeling a strange warmth in his stomach followed by it heading south, he knew something was wrong. Lying against the vinyl couch he began to feel that something horrible was started to happen to his body, or rather…he had just begun to feel the effects of whatever was done to him. Thinking back he realized that he never physically saw the eldest Trinity purchase the drinks he brought back, and thus the wheels started turnings. There was not telling what kind of tampering he did to those drinks, and as Setsuna thought of this one thing began very apparent…he needed to leave…The other male had not returned yet so that did give him a little time, and hopefully there was some kind of backdoor he could've taken so the likelihood of the two of them running into one another was reduced to zero. There was just one little problem…moving had become such a chore that his body refused to move, let along make it to the door.

"Shit..." The younger male cursed under his breath as he once against tried to move, which only resulted in him resting on his knees while his arms supported his upper half. He was panting, not because such a small motion had taken a lot out of him, but because his body was hot. What exactly had he put in his drink? While trying his best to get his body to listen to him, he heard a sound come from behind him he didn't want to, a sound that sent a small, hateful little shiver down his spine.

"Setsuna? Is something wrong?"

That son of a bitch…Looking over his shoulder he saw Johann standing in the doorway, looking so innocent that it really made him want to go over and punch him. But at the moment that wasn't possible. Slowly he walked over, asking once again if something was wrong, this time adding if he could get up in anyway. He knew there was a problem…because he was the cause of all of it, and after telling him those exact words the innocent practically melted away from his face. The younger male was pushed back down on his back rather roughly, and it really didn't take a genius to know what was going through the elder Trinity's head. At that very moment all of the confidence he had in the other male was shattered, and all of those happy filled memories were replaced with one thing…hate. Hate was now fueling him…

"Good…I thought it'd have to up the dosage since it looked like it wasn't working…"

"W-What…did you do to me…?"

"I just gave you something to make you relax… and something to turn you on just a tiny bit…"

Bastard…that's what he wanted to yell at him, but upon feeling his lips become capture by the other male he knew it was useless. He tasted of cheap booze and salt, a combination he didn't like at all but had to bare it since he couldn't push the other off of him. The younger male felt something begin to probe his mouth, and without hesitation he bite down on it, earning a small scream from the other. Even if he couldn't move all that much, he wasn't going to just lie there and taken whatever the much older male was going to do to him. However…no matter how much of a tough exterior he put out, deep down he felt scared. What if he didn't manage to get away from Johann? What if something actually happened to him…? No…he still had enough fight in him and he was going to use every ounce to get away. The eldest Trinity chuckled, apparently getting over the wound the youngest had inflected on his tongue.

To show just how much he disliked that action he struck the younger male across the face, _hard_, hard enough that he was sure the metallic taste in his mouth was blood. It trickled down his chin, and just like the disgusting dog that he was the other male lapped it up with great pleasure. Apparently he was a vampire now…though that seemed to be praising him, so a leech seemed to fit how low he'd become. Correction…Johann had always been low, he had taken his trust and turned it against him in the end, going so far as to drug him so he could have his way with his body. That though made the fiery hatred inside of him burn brighter, and as it did so his determination to get away also grew. Apparently the other male saw the spark in his eyes, and by the look in his own eyes Setsuna knew he was going to try and extinguish it. Shit…that only meant whatever was going to happen to him would only be worse. The bastard before him removed something from his pocket, and his eyes widened in horror upon realizing what it was.

A capsule.

"You know, I was being really nice tonight by not giving you this one…but since you wanna be rough…" The much older male began as he twisted the capsule apart, "I have no choice but to discipline you."

There was no amount of struggling that could prevent the contents from both halves from entering his mouth, and once gone the much older male discarded the empty pieces to the floor. Whatever he had given him began to work its magic immediately, and that was the last thing he really wanted. The heat his body began to emit was so unbearable, and even more unbearable was the pulsating, stinging heat he felt between his legs…and there wasn't a thing he could do about it. His horror only grew when his shirt was forcibly ripped upward, the much older male attacking his right nipple once done. Setsuna had become ten times more sensitive than before…He let out a loud pleasure filled scream that he was sure no one outside of the room would hear, because the bastard trying to screw him had been so clever as to pick a goddamn _**karaoke bar **_where people would be screaming their heads of pretty much twenty-four seven. The younger male was truly starting to hate the sound of his own voice…

"G-Get the hell off of me…" Was all he could whimper out as he placed his hands the eldest Trinity's shoulders, trying his best to push him off but obviously failing.

"What's so wrong with this? Aren't you whoring yourself out to two different people already?" He said as he bit down on him, causing another scream to escape his lips.

This was completely different…He loved the Dylandy twins, and even if he did get upset with them from time to time he didn't hate them. He mustered up as much of a glare as he could and directed it solely at the other male, who found the look rather amusing. Unfortunately he couldn't hold it for very long since the much older male began to play with his other nipple, which caused him to arch up and groan. No…he couldn't give in to the unwanted pleasure that was currently driving his body mad, that was exactly what the other wanted and there was no way in hell he was giving Johann that kind of satisfaction. There had be something he could do, there had to be someway to get that no good asshole away from him, but…but how? In the past he could've thought up a hundred ways he could've mortal injured the other male, such as using the mic stand to beat him senseless, or smother him with one of the throw pillows on the couch…and if he truly had enough energy he would've gladly done both.

His mind was so hazy from the other male's assault on his chest, so much so that he could barely hear what the other was saying…but he did pick up on a few words. _Lock you up_…His body stopped moving completely. Setsuna wasn't sure why his mind decided to respond to those words, but finally understood upon thinking about it. To be locked up…it meant he wouldn't be able to see his friends, family…or the twins. Lurching forward ever so slight he let out another unfortunately pleasure filled moan as his assailant one again bit down on his horribly erect nipple. He didn't want to react to anything that was happening to him, didn't want to moan the way he did when he felt a hand began to caress the front of his pants as he licked his neck. It was so wrong…only the twins could touch him in such a way. Setsuna wanted to see them…wanted them to save him from the hell he was currently going through and take him home.

At home the three of them would prepare dinner together, and he was sure the two of them would cut themselves at some point. By the time they were finished there would be a knock at the door, and there would be all of his friends who usually came over unannounced. It was a good thing he cooked extra. All of them have a good time, though Hallelujah would obviously say something stupid, earning him swift punishment from Tieria. It wouldn't ruin the dinner though, instead it would only serve as a way to lighten the mood even more. He wouldn't get to experience this if he was locked up in some basement, and the more he thought about this the more pressure began to form inside of him. He would not allow such an evil person to take away everything that made him happy, not his friends, his family or the twins. He didn't have the right to…and it was with this he gave out a loud 'GODDAMMIT!' as he kneed the other male in the groin, which he was sure hurt a great deal more because he was probably hard. To further punish the bastard before him he punched him square in jaw, sending him to the floor with a loud 'thud'

Once he was sure that the other male's weight was completely off of him…he ran. The younger male didn't care if he ran into someone or if he ran right past the train station, he just wanted to get as far as he could from the bastard who had betrayed him. He knew at any moment his legs would give out, that he would fall and tumble a few feet before coming to a complete stop…but that didn't stop him. He had to run, had to go as far as his legs could carry him, if not he was sure he'd be caught and dragged into some alleyway and definitely raped. That wasn't going to happen…but as soon as he felt something grab the back of his shirt he knew it was going to. Instinctively he raised his fist and tried to hit his attacker without much word, but upon feeling his fist miss he knew it was all over.

"Seiei-kun, please calm down, it's me…"

With his vision slightly hazy he looked up, find a familiar figure standing before him.

"H-Hong Long…"

It was Liu Mei's brother…really he was her half-brother, but a brother was brother regardless. The two of them only met when he came to pick his younger sister up, and though the two of them never exchanged that many words he could tell what kind of person he was. Stern…the kind of person who possessed a military-esque appearance and manner, though this did not mean he was like this inside and out. Even if they were merely glimpses he saw that hard exterior of his soften, mostly when dealing with his sister. Leaning against a nearby building Setsuna sighed a little, finally realizing just how relived he felt. The much taller male before him soon informed him that he was given instructions to take him wherever he wanted, and when he inquired just who had given him those instructions the other relied 'Liu Mei'. What did she have to do with any of this…? Why had she sent her brother to get him? He really didn't have much time to think anything through since an all too recognizable voice broke through the sounds that were normally heard in the night of the city. Immediately Hong Long pushed him behind him, his body easily reading that it was ready for what was to come.

"Y-You little shit, I should beat you for that stunt you pulled…"Johann said as he approached the two of them, looking not so pleased and ready to kill.

"Please refraine from touching him…" The taller male said while grabbing the wrist of the other who had tried to reach for him.

"Who the hell are you? His new fuck toy? Goddamn Setsu, I didn't know you moved so- GAH!"

Finally something had shut that bastard up. Hong Long had apparently had enough of the other male's mouth and proceeded to jab him directly in the stomach, causing him to lurch forward and look as if he almost gagged rather violently. Liu Mei's brother took this time to hoist the younger male onto his back, and once secure ran at full speed down the street. Setsuna was asked where he wanted to go, and he without hesitation he told him the directions to the café Lyle worked at. With a nod he quickly hurried, probably trying to lose the eldest Trinity in the crowds.

"I must apologize, Seiei-kun…" Hong Long started, "I've been following you since you left the train station…Liu Mei told me specifically not interfere unless the situation looked dire. I hope I didn't make you feel too uncomfortable…"

So he was the reason the younger male felt as if he was being watched…But there was no reason to be upset with him since he had basically saved him from a second assault from Johann, so he shook his head and told the taller male that everything was fine. Being carried was much better than walking, because he could finally take the rest he so rightfully deserved. His body was still tense though, but not like before where he felt like he'd breaking in half if anymore was added to his body. No…it wasn't the same tense. Unfortunately he was still feeling the effects of the pill that bastard had given him, and the worst part was it probably wouldn't stop until morning came. The thought of vomiting just to get it out did occur to him, but there was really no point since the drug had already been absorbed into his system. It was a horrible feeling…it felt as if he was drowning in an intense sea of lust that had completely taken him over, and he so badly wanted to be pulled out from it or risk doing something he regretted.

Lust was a powerful emotion…one that drove human beings to do the most indecent things. At that very moment his body was craving attention, and it took what little concentration he had to keep it in check. Then a horrible little thought popped into his head…what if when he saw Lyle he lost it? His body really was damn near about to go over the edge, and the last thing he really wanted was to attack the older male while he was at work. That would've been horrifying, but he wouldn't know the outcome until he actually made it there…which came much sooner than he actually thought it would. His mind shook from its thoughts when Hong Long asked who he needed to ask for, and with a weak voice he answered 'Lyle Dylandy'. He heard the taller male requested if the two of them could see the person in question, though the younger couldn't tell if the person he was talking to agreed or not since his face was currently buried in the Hong Long's back. He was really about to lose it. The only thing he heard from the next five minutes was the chatter of the cafe, and during that short period he seriously thought Lyle had gone home early.

"S-Setsuna…"

Scratched that, he was still there. The youngest practically leaped off of the taller male's back, latching onto the other's waist once close enough. He was finally safe…nothing horrible could happen to him once he was with one of the twins. The other male's body was warm, and it was a warmth that the youngest had missed so much that he held onto the older male even tighter, as if afraid it would leave him if his grip loosened in the slightest. From behind him he heard Hong Long excuse himself, and by the chiming of the bells that hung from the main entrance going off he was sure he had left. When he heard Lyle ask just what had happened to him, he tensed; he contemplating if he really should relive what had gone on that night, not because he was scared but because he didn't want the older male to get involved. However…it really didn't seem fair to once again leave him out of such an important matter, so he took a deep breath and began telling him about the events that had transpired that night.

If there had been a time where the expression on Lyle's face truly frightened him it would've been right at that moment.

"…I'm going to kill him…" Was all the older male said after a long period of silence, and as much of a good idea as that sounded Setsuna could not allow it. Quickly he held the Dylandy twin tighter to prevent him from leaving the cafe, and of course he objected to this.

"He deserves the beating that's coming to him-"

"I-I know…I know…but I don't know what'll do to you, so…" He began to trail off, hoping that his point was made. It didn't seem to be since the older male still had such a murderous look in his eyes, and with no other way he could think of (his fatigue was hitting him rather hard) he truly did feel at a loss. But apparently his body had gone through too much in such a short time, because the next thing he knew his lying against the ground groaning. He heard Lyle calling his name over and over in a frantic manor, but the only thing he could mutter in return was 'tired'. As he closed his eyes he heard the constant patter of feet against the ground, and that was pretty much the last thing he did hear before blacking out.

God he was tired…and the worst part was upon waking up he still felt like crashing where he currently was…where the hell was he exactly? It wasn't the apartment, that he knew for sure…The youngest was lying on a couch, one much more comfortable than the one in the karaoke bar, with what looked like a…tailcoat covering him. Sitting up slowly, because his head was throbbing (but not drunk throbbing), he found he was in what looked like a break room. It looked rather nice, though given the other male's profession it was a given that the hired help would at least be given a cozy place to relax when they weren't working. Including the couch he was lying on there were a total of two, both a deep shade of blue and both smelling of lavender. The smell was probably the reason he had been out for so long, seeing as how _the sun was out_. Right next to the small refrigerator in the far corner was a table that held both a microwave and a coffee maker, and he was sure a more than a few of the employees were downing the caffeinated liquid like it was water. How else would they stay awake?

So Lyle hadn't taken him home…he didn't mind this, though he did hope the older male had called Lockon at some point so he didn't freak out because of his absence. Lying back down he took a deep sigh, mind now clear to mull over a few things about the night before…all of them having to do with Liu Mei. He was rather grateful that she sent her brother out to rescue him, but how did she know that such a situation would take place? If she was conspiring with Johann, why would she turn on him at the last second? She didn't seem like the kind of person who enjoyed the suffering of other, and in fact was rather fond of him. Maybe…she was so sick of him not responding to her flirtatious behavior that she decided that he needed to be taught a lesson…but then why would she send her brother to get him? She was confusing, the situation was confusing, and the best thing for him to do right at the moment was to just push it aside for later.

"Yes, I know, I'll take him home as soon as he wakes up- oh, you're awake." The oldest said as his attention snapped from whoever he was talking to on the other said of the door to him.

"Yeah…Why are my pants undone?" Setsuna said as he sat up once more, noting the zipper on that the front of his jeans were so obviously down.

"W-Well, y-you, um, had a little problem, a-and it looked like you were in pain, s-so I just helped out a little."

The youngest wasn't mad, if anything he felt a little annoyed that whatever substance that bastard had used on him was probably still in his body. After telling the other that he wasn't upset he watched as he walked over, and Setsuna was sure he wasn't hugging because he was glad he hadn't killed him for touching him while asleep. Wrapping his arms around him as well he completely relaxed against him, once again feeling that warmth that was clearly absent when he was knocked out. The previous night had been a long one, and he'd only make it longer by dwelling in the past. The eldest Trinity had already taken too much of his time…and Setsuna would not give him the pleasure of being scared or crying. As much as he wanted to crawl into a corner and break down he repeatedly told himself not to, because if he did so Johann would've won…he would've successfully raped his mind so that it belonged to him. That wasn't going to happen.

Of course he wasn't saying that he'd just get over what had happened to him, that would've been foolish…It would take a little time for him to trust new people, and when it came to karaoke bars he'd be avoiding them like the plague for a good while. In fact he wouldn't be going out by himself at night until he felt comfortable…that didn't seem wrong, and he was sure there was someone awake who'd be pleased to go with him. But for the time being he just wanted to hold on to the older male, even if he smelled like odd mixture of woman's perfume and pastries. Upon thinking about it he suddenly remembered that he never actually got a good look at the older male, and given the face that he had woken up being covered by a coat that obviously belonged to a butler his mind already knew the situation…but it didn't hurt to confirm it. Pushing back a little he began eying what Lyle was wearing, and couldn't help but chuckle ever so slightly.

"S-Shitsuji."

"Y-Yeah, it was theme day. It was either this or a bartender outfit, and I really didn't want anymore '_Kyaa! You look just like __Shizuo-chan!_' comments…Even if they weren't true, they were kind of annoying. But then there are all the Sebastian comments I get, and the girls seems to be just as clingy, so it wasn't like I was going for the better option. Be compared to a guy with anger issues and get groped or be compared to an absolutely perfect demon butler and get groped, both options suck. But you know…it's kinda funny since both characters are voiced by the same person, right?"

As he listened to the older male ramble on about how much he disliked theme day, the youngest became aware that he was merely trying to lighten the mode. It was working. As he lied against the older male, laughing ever so slightly whenever he said something amusing, he found himself feeling so much better. He really could've gone back to sleep just listening to the sound of the other's voice, but unfortunately their little moment didn't last long…Another one of the employees peeked in and announced that there was a girl outside that wanted to see someone by the name of 'Setsuna', and instantly his attention was caught. Could it have been…? Quickly getting up, redoing his pants as he did so, and left the room, though Lyle had to show him the way to the front in the end because he swore to get from the break room to the main entrance was like a goddamn maze. Once they actually made it to the front they found Liu Mei waiting, nonchalantly looking at her phone as if she had not asked for him to come.

"You want to ask me something, don't you…?" She said as she looked up from her phone, a small smile spread across her lips.

"…How did you know…?"

That was the question he so desperately wanted answered…

"Some people are just bad, Neko-chan, and I believe I'm a good judge of character." Liu Mei said as she spun around on her heel so she was facing him. He watched as she dangled her phone in front of him, and with one swift movement he took it and began rolling browsing through what looked like a chat log.

It was dated back exactly a month after he and Johann began becoming 'friends', and as he scrolled through he began to becoming deeply disturbed. There were two people talking, one being someone by the name of Shizaya_Ai, which so obviously belonged to the Liu Mei she admitted it was her favorite (and rather violent) pairing but the elder Trinity wouldn't know this fact since she had said so before his arrival. The other, simply called Trinity_J, belonged to Johann, and as the two of them talked the only thing the much older male seemed to speak about was how much closer he was to 'bedding a feisty little kitty'. All the while 'Shizaya_Ai' was trying her best to wean him off of said 'kitty', but it didn't seem to be working. She said nothing to provoke him, nothing that would give her away the fact that she was trying to defend someone she knew. As he continued on Setsuna began to realize just how fucked in the head the much older male was, and it made him sick to his stomach to know that he had allowed someone so sick to get close to him.

Reading the final log was hard, mainly because it was dated approximately three hours before he met with the eldest Trinity. It was then that she tried her best to prevent the event that occurred, her final words being 'you'll regret it'. He stared at the phone for a good moment before returning it, mind filled with so many things that he wasn't quite sure what he wanted to say first. Liu Mei then told him that the much older male would be 'punished', and given the look in her eyes it was probably best to not ask just what would be coming to the other. Taking a deep breath he thanked her for all of her efforts, but questioned why she had gone through so much just for him. She laughed…then cast her eyes to the side every so slightly.

"Both you and Lichty are the only people I consider as friends, and it should only be natural that I would want to get rid of anything and anyone who decided to mess with either of you…by any means necessary."

She was scary…but at least she was kind in her own, slightly twisted, little way. Bowing a little he thanked her again, causing Liu Mei to chuckle a little as she turned on her heel once more and walked away. Raising her hand behind her she waved, commenting that she wanted to see 'Neko-chan' at work the next day or it wouldn't be as 'fun'. She really was strange, but then again most of his friends were…so she would pretty much fit right in.

"Neko-chan has a lot of nice fri-

"Lyle, call me that again, and you won't be making it home today…"


	25. The Harajuku Chapter

"Oi, Assistant, get me something to drink."

He was going to kill him…

"Oi!"

"Shut up and get your own goddamn drink!"

Working for Hallelujah was far worse than Tieria had ever imagined…The interview process he had to go through with his new boss, uncomfortable but passable, but working with the 'elder' Haptism…he was going to kill him. His boss was nice, at lot nicer than the other male portrayed him to be, but his powers of judgment pretty much sucked. Because the second youngest had request to be given 'field work', since doing office work was out of the question, he needed to be paired but with a photographer…but of course this process took time so he was, in the end, still reduced to doing desk work. It wasn't all that bad, but since he was new it wasn't like he was trusted with the big stuff, so he only handled columns that dealt with small thing like stores closing or opening and small events. The other employees were rather nice and helpful, though he was constantly asked how he could in any way, shape or form be acquainted with one Hallelujah Haptism.

He could understand their confusion…Most of the people in the building were from Tokyo, so the sound of the 'elder' Haptism's rough Kansai accent probably threw them off a little, and his outwardly pissed off disposition didn't help at all. He also wasn't the nicest person to talk to, neither caring if he was speaking to a male or female. This 'habit' of his turned into a rather bad problem back in high school, which usually led to fights with people in all three grades. He was a true idiot…but the second youngest defended that idiot when people spoke ill of him. However, the idiot that he defended just _loved_ to come to the workplace and mess with him. Apparently it was rare for him to be anywhere near the building when he didn't have a job, which meant the slightly younger male's sole purpose for being there was to give him a headache. This was expected on some level, because in all honesty why wouldn't the slightly older male bother him? Technically speaking he was his senpai since he had been working their longer, which basically meant that Tieria was his underling. He was supposed to be picked on…

But this wasn't to say that he had a counter-attack or two for when thing became more than a little annoying. When things became too bad he'd merely brightly smile and say something along the lines of 'Senpai is such a wonderful person' or 'Senpai is such a funny person' and his personal favorite being 'Senpai is treating me so well'. All of this completely threw the other male off his game, which he didn't mind at all since the other usually ended up in the break room, probably contemplating his if the second youngest was sane or not. Oh he was sane, and after spending so many years with Hallelujah he was quite surprised at this fact. Hell, he was surprised that any of his friends were sane after spending time with the other male…

When he had time Allelujah like to visit and drop off lunch for him, much to the irritation of his brother who commented that his presence 'wasn't needed'. He always seemed irritated when the other Haptism came, and if he had to take a guess the second youngest would've gone with it being a territorial thing. He knew it sounded stupid, but much like a cat that had caught a mouse for the sheer amusement of it the 'elder' Haptism probably regarded him as his plaything while in at the workplace. so basically all those who decided to interfere were treated with hostility. Of course his stupidity was kept in check when he slapped in the back of the head, telling the slightly older male to stop acting like a child in the process.

Because of the lack of information Hallelujah decided to not share with his employees, the only bad thing about his brother coming was that people usually confused the two of them. Allelujah had told him that whenever he spoke to someone they visibly tensed up, stuttering as they talked to him. But it wasn't until his pleasant demeanor came across that people either looked at him as is he had spoken a different language, or just flat out ran in fear.

As long as the slightly older male wasn't getting hurt, he found the whole thing rather amusing. Tieria always ended up comforting him since it really did distress him to see others act like that around him, and these actions just further pissed off Hallelujah. He was seriously being an attention whore at work, because he certainly didn't act in such a way when the three of them were at home. It was annoying as hell, but there wasn't much he could do about his behavior since he was sure it was just a phase. He'd get over it once he figured out that his antics wouldn't only piss the second youngest off, pretty much to the point where ignoring him became the norm. The 'elder' Haptism _hated _being ignored with a passion, and since the lack of attention was coming from the person he liked to screw, those dusty cogs in his head would finally start turning eventually. But for some odd reason those the slightly older male's mind just didn't do the right thing and make him just flat out stop, oh no, it made him do something else…something that scared the living hell out of him.

Tieria was rather busy on that particular day, and the irritation from knowing that he'd be constantly disturbed only grew as time went on. He could ignore the other as much as he wanted, but ignoring him didn't dull the urge to want to punch the crap out of him. He found it a little odd that the other male hadn't come in yet, and for a brief moment thought that he was in the clear for the day. But that was not the case unfortunately…It was an hour before lunch and in walked the object of his despair, looking not too happy with something. Just great…he had probably come there to bitch and moan about his problems, something that obviously could not wait until the end of the day. Spinning around his chair he gave the other male an 'okay, out with it' look before crossing his arms, wanting to get their encounter over as fast as possible. And then the scary part happened.

With one pretty much fluid motion the 'elder' Haptism fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around his waist, burying his face in his stomach once done. What the hell was he doing? His confusion deepened when he heard the words 'comfort me' softly escape from the other male's lips, causing him to go ridged. This was either some kind of sick joke or Hallelujah was drunk, and since the smell of alcohol wasn't radiating off of him it was probably the first option. He was such an ass…Placing both hands on the slightly older male's shoulders he tried to push him off, saying that he had grown tired of him screwing around while he was working. But he didn't budge, which only made Tieria groan in frustration. Yelling would only cause a commotion, which would get the attention of his boss, and the last thing he wanted his boss to see was the slightly older male attached to his waist. Maybe the second youngest was too uptight, but this was his first job…he wanted to make a good impression on everyone, especially the person who had hired him.

Why the hell didn't he understand that?

His anger settled ever so slightly upon hearing Hallelujah's muffled '_why don't you comfort me like Allelujah when we're at work…?_' which made him lean back in his chair and direct his vision to the ceiling. He was such a child, wanting to be the center of attention all the time…but he couldn't help but understand somewhat. Tieria getting a job meant he wasn't home as often as he use to be, and since the slightly older male's preferred working space was at home of course he'd start to feel lonely when no one was around. But still…Reaching down he gently ran his fingers through the other male's hair…before promptly grabbing it roughly. Lonely or not that did not give him the right to mess with him during work hours. He looked at him directly in the eyes and told him that enough was enough, and he either needed to go back home or sit in the corner and let him work in peace. The other male looked up at him, shock very prevalent in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced with something else.

He was pushed roughly back in the chair, and if it hadn't been lock he would've gone back a good distance. Without a single word he watched as the slightly older male quickly got up and left, and Tieria was sure he'd never hear the end of it after coming back home. But strangely enough Hallelujah acted as if the event had never taken place, which did concern him. The 'elder' Haptism _did not _just accept thing without bitch and moaning about it for hours at a time, and this made being around him rather uncomfortable. So the second youngest took the initiative and decided to just apologize to the other male, hopefully to make him stop the craziness that was obviously going through his head. He merely stared at him with a look on his face that could not be read as he said that everything was fine…but that was a lie.

It wasn't until two days later that Tieria figured out what that looked was…_'I'm going to get you back so hard_'. Before he could make it to his desk that day he was told that his boss wanted to see him, which made a knot begin to form in his stomach. Even if he hadn't been working for that long, he knew that people were only called into their boss' office for two reasons: for good or bad news. He hadn't really done anything to actually piss the much older male off, but on the other hand he really hadn't done anything to earn his praise either. So why was he being called in…? Tieria didn't remember that he had requested field work some time ago until his boss mentioned that there was an opening, or rather an offer, which made the younger male let out a sigh of relief. So he was finally getting out of the office. However…upon being told that he'd be working with Hallelujah his stomach pretty much dropped. It was an odd feeling, mainly because he couldn't understand why he felt such a way until he actually met the slightly older male outside of the building. The look on his face clearly read as nothing but pure evil intent.

He knew hell was coming his way…and that was pretty much the best way for him to describe the first two months working with the 'elder' Haptism. Hell. The other male pretty much disregarded the fact that the two of them were supposed to be working together, and put the second youngest on the same pedestal as an assistant. He even called him that! It was so degrading, and every time he complained the other male would merely answered '_you're still getting paid, so what's the problem?_', which not only pissed him off but caused him to really reconsider if going through such torture was worth it. He could've so easily walked into his boss' office and request he be dismissed from working with Hallelujah all together, opting out to wait once again for another opening. But there was just one problem…he wasn't in any sort of position to ask for something like that. He hadn't been working there for long, so his 'privileges' would've been very limited compared to someone who had been working there for years. It would've made him seem like a brat to ask for someone else to partner with, and the fact that he had only been working with the other male for only two months did not help at all.

So Tieria pretty much had to suck it up, though that didn't mean he couldn't bitch and moan to someone to feel better. Much like in high school whenever Hallelujah decided to piss him off to the point where just looking at him made his rage flair up, there was only one person he could've turned to…Setsuna. He would always listen to him as he ranted on about whatever the slightly older male had done to him, and as always he would listen to him till the very end. Advice was not given unless asked, because Setsuna might've been opinionated but when it came to relationships he decided it was probably best to ask before speaking. The youngest always told the truth, never beating around the bush or skirting around the issue. This was probably why he preferred to speak to Setsuna rather than the 'younger' Haptism when to certain matters, because Allelujah was too…_lenient_ with him.

On the day he actually decided to seek the younger male's company Setsuna was supposed to be running errands for Graham's shop, because apparently the older male was a few people short at his shop. This happened from time to time and the only people the blonde could turn to for assistance were his old comrades, and they were usually happy to assist since it usually occurred on their days off. They were mostly deliveries, and Graham provided them with bikes so they could easily get to their destinations. It felt nice riding around the town once again, Tieria finding that it hadn't changed much at all. It was still so quiet and quaint, always looking as if nothing spectacular was going on at all. That was the way he liked things to be in the small towns…uneventful and ordinary. It brought back memories of his younger days, when he was still very much bound by the house he grew up in but had the support of his friends to help him cope. The only reason he had managed to keep his sanity was because of that support system, because he was sure that he would've lost it long ago if not for the people close to him.

There were a total of thirty places they needed to visit, but because the second youngest was in a ranting mood they didn't do the smart thing and split up. He told Setsuna about how poorly he was being treated, about how it was partially his own fault but the 'elder' Haptism had taken things too far. Every now and then he would glance over at the younger male, finding that he was indeed listening but still focused on the task at hand. The only time Tieria decided to shut up about his personal life was when the two of them ran into someone they hadn't seen in a while, usually the older folks, who remembered when they were 'so small'. Setsuna always seemed to blush whenever someone mentioned Lockon's antics when he was younger, because honestly they really were something to be embarrassed about. But that blush was always followed by a small smile, because even if the Dylandy twin acted like an idiot quite often it was rather hard to deny that there was some fun to be made in it all.

It took a good three hours for them to finish, only because they knew where the majority of the delivery stops (the lack of construction going on helped), and all the while the second youngest kept going on and one about how he felt. It felt pretty good to let it all out, because he had read somewhere that allowing problems to build up was bad for one's heath. Maybe that was the reason for the younger male's tense disposition when in high school, and getting picked on didn't help at all. By the time the two of them had made it back to Graham's shop Setsuna hadn't said a thing to console him, which was alright, but some kind of feedback would've been nice. It wasn't like, you know, he needed someone to feel sorry for him, because if he wanted that the 'younger' Haptism should've been the first person on his list to see. But he still asked the other male if he had anything to say, to which he merely replied the two of them were being 'childish'. Hallelujah acting childish, fine, that was completely expected…but why was he, Tieria Erde, being a child? It was all Hallelujah's fault! The second youngest had done nothing wrong!

Before he could even ask for an explanation the other male gave him one; apparently he was called 'childish' because everything could've ended the day his boss assigned him to work him the 'elder' Haptism, so therefore he must've been acting according to the slightly older male's wishes because he felt guilty about the event that had lead up to their hostility. Before the words 'you're wrong' could fly out of his mouth, Tieria decided to actually think about what had been said before promptly telling his smaller friend that he was insane. Even as he yelled at Hallelujah for treating him like some lowly errand-boy, the second youngest still did the tasks regardless of this and without much thought. Did that…really mean he was feeling guilty? Or was he simply doing such mundane tasks because he had no other choice?

This was exactly what he began to ponder as he angrily walked away from the slightly older male, grumbling curses about how he take whatever can of juice or soda he brought back and cram it down Hallelujah's throat. That day hadn't started off on a good foot, and he was sure it wasn't going to end on one. Firstly the 'elder' Haptism had completely forgotten to wake him up that morning, thus resulting in him having to get to their work site by himself. It took _three hours_ by train (only because he had missed the first one)…That goddamn bastard…It took him an additional twenty minutes to actually find the other male, and as soon as he did he was given a 'you're late' which just further pissed him off. And then the orders started…no matter how much the two of them fought, in the end Tieria would always storm off, getting whatever the other male had asked for. It was so goddamn pathetic…and he was the only one to blame.

Kicking the vending machine once near he let out a little of his frustration, wanting nothing more that that cold piece of metal to be the 'elder' Haptism's head. He cursed under his breath and began looking over the items that were actually inside the machine, finding in that most of them were tea so he merely picked whatever was cheapest. Typing in the correct combination of letters and numbers into the small keypad the second youngest watched as the small bottle of oolong tea was pushed out of his confined slot, slowly falling into the darkness below. It felt so much like his own career…He was doing just fine, neither on the bottom or the top, until some asshole came along and decided that they wanted to bring him down. It made him sick just thinking about it, and he spent a good three minutes just staring into the darkness where the oolong tea bottle resided. That bottle was him…and if something wasn't done than he would continue to dwell in the same hell for another two months if the correct hand was not dealt. He hesitated for moment before reaching down into the small slot at the bottom, not feeling a thing for a few seconds before his fingers curled around the neck of the plastic bottle.

Ick…it wasn't even cold. Perfect…that'd piss him off. Taking the bottle with him he left, walking back over to where Hallelujah was currently shooting. The 'elder' Haptism looked focused as usual, but this did not stop him from talking to him.

"Oi, I got your stupid drink."

Nothing, just like he expected. Letting out an aggravated sigh he walked over to the nearest bench and plopped down, watching the slightly older male and hoping his gaze actually did burn a hole through that thick skull of his. Being ignored really wasn't something he could be completely angry with the other male about, especially since he was focused on work. That intense, unwavering look he always got on his face was fascinating, and it was probably the only reason Tieria hadn't thrown that bottle of oolong tea at him. He was a completely different person when working, which funny enough actually made him look like an adult. The second youngest liked that look…but that didn't dull the annoyance he felt towards him.

"Hurry up, this bottle is getting warmer by the minute…" Tieria said, noting that it really wasn't his problem but the other male's. Holding the small bottle up momentarily he removed the lid, staring down at the amber colored liquid before taking a small sip. It as bitter…and maybe the 'no sugar' label on the side should've told him before hand what he was getting himself into.

The taste brought back a few bad memories of his old household, because in order to be a 'proper Erde woman' he needed to perform tea ceremonies without flaw. Like always if he screwed up in the smallest thing (and he always did) he'd be punished, and trying to drink the tea he had spilled on the floor was neither appetizing nor sanitary. It was somewhat amusing, thinking back on what his life used to be like that was, because he knew even as he thought about the people that had conceived him and the person he was supposed to marry the second youngest was sure that the three of them had moved on. That's how things worked when one 'abandoned' the Erde household, which meant he was pretty much dead to them. It made visiting Lilith much easier on his nerves.

"Oi, get your ass up and get me something else to drink."

"Huh?" The second youngest said as he looked up, finally noticing that the other male was standing over him, "This one is perfectly fine-"

"I don't want your dirty backwash."

There were a couple of things very, very wrong with what had just been said, the most prominent being that he seemed to have no problems in the past when the two of them were sucking face, exchanging bodily fluids like there was no tomorrow. That pissed him off…and as he other began to walk away the sudden urge to do something began to well up inside of him. The second youngest briefly forgot the whole 'never act on impulse when angry' rule and pretty much just threw caution to the wind…or rather the bottle of oolong tea directly at the back of Hallelujah's head. When he heard a loud 'OW GODDAMMIT!' come from the other male he knew he'd made direct contact, but when hearing the sound of two things landing on the ground with a loud 'thug' a sharp pain hit his body. Why were their two sounds…? The first one was obviously the hollow pang of the tea bottle hitting the ground; its contents spill instantly because he had not bothered to place the cap on it.

But the second sound…it was heavier, bulkier, and obviously made out of metal. The sound of pieces breaking off could be heard, and it was then that Tieria to look up and inspect the source of that horrible sound. His heart stopped…it was the 'elder' Haptism's camera. To further inflict damage to the slightly older male's beloved the oolong tea was currently pooling around it, obviously damaging the sensitive equipment, maybe to the point where it was unable to be fixed. If that was the case he had pretty much just killed the other male's pride and joy.

"I-I…I didn't mean to…I-I'm so sorry-"

He was instantly cut off when the other male glared at him. It was intense, so much so that the younger male had to back up a bit. That was all Hallelujah needed to do to get his point across, and Tieria unfortunately knew there wasn't a thing he could've said or done to change his mind. There was no point in him being there…so he quickly turned on his heel and ran, uncaring of his destination or if he ran into someone in the process. He just wanted to get away. That look hurt…hurt more than it probably should have, and the guilt that began building up in his body obviously had something to do with it. His chest was heavy and judging by the way his vision began to blur the second youngest knew he was crying, but he couldn't understand why…Of course he was upset over what had happened, but it was his fault!

"_It was…all Hallelujah's fault…for being a selfish child…"_ Was all his mind could repeat, but as it did so he couldn't help but notice how it was _he_ who sounded like a selfish child. He was trying to put all of the blame on someone else, someone that didn't deserve it. The whole situation could've just stopped if only the younger male hadn't acted like a five year old that wanted to prove that he was right…and now he had broken something that the other male held dear.

There was no way in hell for him to apologize for something like that…

He stopped for a moment to catch his breath, finding that upon coming to his sense that he had no idea just where he was. That park he had just fled from was probably the furthest he'd ever gone in that area, so now he was pretty much lost in a part of Tokyo he had never been to. Great…just great…taking whatever the slightly older male had to say to him was much better than getting himself lost. Removing his glasses he rubbed his palms against his eyes, trying his best to rid himself of the now drying tears. It just seemed he couldn't make one good goddamn decision that day…Maybe this was for the best, maybe getting away from Hallelujah meant the two of them could've cleared their heads and not end up in a yelling match the next time they saw one another. The thought of calling the 'younger' Haptism did occur to him, but he wasn't necessarily sure if that would've been the best of ideas at the moment. What was he going to tell him? _'Allelujah, I'm lost, could you come get me?'_ Yeah…that was going to go over well…

If he wanted to call the first thing he needed to do was locate where he was, and that could've been ten times easier if his cell actually had GPS. Well, it wasn't really that he didn't '_have_' it…it was more that he didn't know how to use it. Pathetic, right? Sighing a little he began walking, knowing that he'd come across something that would help him figure out his location. Given that it was a Sunday the streets were pretty crowded, and as Tieria began to look around it became increasingly harder to deny that he was surrounded by nothing but couples. The hand holding, the looks, the flushed faces…they were all around him, and it wouldn't have been so bad if he himself wasn't absolutely _alone_. It sucked so hard, but the only person he could really be pissed off at was himself. _He _had thrown the bottle, _he_ had damaged the other male's camera, and _he_ was the one who had fled in fear.

A sickening feeling began to fill the pit of his stomach, and he was sure it was the shame he felt for his foolish actions. Looking around once more he began to notice the increase number of people, which meant a couple of things: he was getting closer to the train station (which would've been a wonderful turn of events), something was going on that actually warranted getting everyone's attention, or he was more lost then he actually bargained for. But someone had decided to smile upon him at that very moment, but of course it really didn't look like a blessing since he was completely bombarded with a nasty case of sensory overload.

"Um…" Tieria muttered to himself, stopping his train of thought as he tried to recover from the massive blow he'd received.

Slowly he began to put together that the bright and dull colored dresses with frills, bows, and other assortment of 'pretty things' were actually quite familiar to him, only because he had on one too many occasions been forced to wearing such outlandish outfits by a certain duo from Shibuya. Well…maybe not _forced_, but still. Somehow the second youngest had managed to land himself in Harajuku, and even though he knew of the place he had never actually been before. Anime conventions were as far as he was willing to go when it came to dressing in clothes not actually meant for his sex, only because it was a once or twice a year kind of thing. However…both Christina and Feldt liked to visit Harajuku _every_ goddamn Sunday while wearing their Lolita outfits (the last time he called them costumes he was yelled at) like many others was complete overkill for him.

And then something hit him…it was Sunday, he was in Harajuku, and there were a lot of people out…so didn't that mean there was a possibility that both girls were in the general area? It was worth trying to see…Taking out his phone he scrolled through his contacts, debating on whether or not he wanted physically call or just text either of them. Calling would've resulting in a long conversation that would probably have no point until one was brought up, and of course he'd be unintentionally absorbed in the nonsense without a second thought. Texting was fast and to the point, and it was damn near impossible to get off of the subject at hand…but knowing the girls they'd probably find a way to do so. With a small sigh he typed '_Are you in Harajuku? Since, you know, I'm here_' before waiting a moment, half expecting to get an angry reply of 'no, I was asleep!' or something along those lines. That would've dampened his mood quite a bit…

_Oh course I am, it's Sunday, isn't it? Feldt is here too! It's too hot out here, don't you think? But then again it is that time of the year, lol. Where are you? Oh! You should join us! Unless you're busy. You're not on a date are you? Wah! I'm so sorry! Continue on if you are! Oh, but if you're not you could totally come hang out with us! We could really use you! I type too much, don't I? Lol._

All of that was given to him in a matter of seconds, and Tieria was sure it was well over the character limit. But it was a relief nonetheless. Texting back he told her his current location, and within no time he received a 'we're not too far from there!' back. So he began to wait for the two to find him amongst the rather large crowed of people, feeling slightly nervous as he did so. Maybe human interaction wasn't the best thing for him at the moment, but it would most certainly take his mind off of what had happened earlier that evening. God…what the hell was he going to say to Hallelujah when he actually did see him? It was a pretty well known fact that the 'elder' Haptism had a nasty habit of not getting over grudges within a 'reasonable' amount of time, and that really did worry him. The situation wouldn't have been so horrible if he only worked with the slightly older male, but no…he practically lived with him.

He had _**really**_ screwed up…

"Oi!"

Upon feeling his arm being assaulted he didn't freak out, only greeting Christina and Feldt as he was pulled in some random direct. Of course they were wearing attire that made it so they perfectly blended in with the rest of the colorful people around, and for some odd reason it made the second youngest feel slightly under dressed.

"So, what brings you out here…?" Feldt asked, obviously interested.

"Well…" Tieria started, decided it was probably best to be as vague as possible, "I kinda got myself into a little trouble and ran away…"

"Oh?" The taller of the two females said, perking up instantly (not that she wasn't perky before hand), "You know what comes after running away, right?"

"Huh? You go back after a bit, right?"

"Of course not! You join the circus! And right now I think it's about time you joined the circus, Tieria-chan. Feldt, get the extra bag of clothes!"

That…didn't sound good.

* * *

His gut was telling him that something had gone wrong, but because Allelujah didn't know just what his stomach began to turn uncomfortably. It obviously had something to do with the rather foul mood that always seemed to linger whenever his brother and the second youngest were around, but no matter how much he questioned the two of them he never received an answer as to why they were always on edge when the other was around. Well…it was probably better to say that he had a vague idea what the problem was, he just wanted confirmation before jumping into the situation and getting himself hurt unnecessarily. Tieria had gotten a job as well as new priorities, and as such couldn't be around the 'eldest' Haptism as much as he use to. That was probably just the tip of the iceberg, because not many people know that his brother was such a complicated creature. As much as he denied this, because it meant admitting that he was just like everyone else, the fact still remained that Hallelujah Haptism was a surprisingly deep person.

Who else would know him better than his mirror image, and it was precisely because he knew him so well that Allelujah felt the urgency he did to do _something_…but everything his head came up with had some horrible flaw to it. Trying to get the two of them to talk would've been out of the question, because it would merely end up with them arguing for an ungodly amount of time before his brother stormed out of the apartment and Tieria locking himself in the bath or bedroom. Talking to them on separate occasions was also out since when the two of them met they'd blame him for 'going behind their backs' to talk to the other, the outcome being the same with his previous idea. Leaving them to their own devices may have worked in the past but not with the current situation, only because his brother seemed genuinely hurt by whatever the second youngest had done.

How did he know he was hurt? Because of the way he looked at the slightly younger male from afar…those dejected, melancholy eyes of his always scanned Tieria, as if searching for some kind of answer or reasoning. It was a hard thing to watch, especially since it almost stripped his brother of his 'tough' title. Hallelujah was strong but love had weakened him, turned him 'human'. Allelujah wanted to help his brother, wanted to help the second youngest, but deep down he knew there wasn't really much he could've done to solve their problems.

He was far too worried for someone who was supposed to be enjoying his Sunday off from school. It was one of those rare weekends where he actually got both Saturday and Sunday off, as well as a little time away from the veterinary center. Of course his first priority was to sleep, because Tieria deemed it so and there really wasn't any changing his mind. He'd been pretty strict when it came to him 'relaxing', which was understandable since he did work a bit too hard when at home than he probably should've. He wasn't sure why it was so hard for him to switch off from 'work-mode' once home, but he was at least glad he had someone to remind him taking it easy once in awhile was okay, because if not he would've been in the hospital months ago. His second priority was taking care of his brother's pets, and he would've done so even without being asked to. Thankfully his brother had decided to give them somewhat realistic and decent names, the two tortoiseshell colored kittens (both being female) were called 'Kiki' and ' Nana' while the lone male was named 'Jiji'.

Now…the 'younger' Haptism might not have been all that 'in to' the anime industry, but he was sure the name Kiki and Jiji came from that old movie _Kiki's Delivery Service_, while the name Nana came from the manga of the same name that Tieria occasionally read. There was nothing wrong with any of this, but the other male's flat out denial that he had gotten the names from anywhere other than out of thin air was actually rather funny. For the most part the kittens were actually rather enjoyable to have around, but there were times he was sure they were channeling some kind of evil entity (or just their mother). The furniture was usually the main target, which wasn't unusual for cats, but having three of them raising hell all at once was a bit of a hassle. Of course Neko get them in line when they went too far, but that was only when she saw it necessary, usually swatting at them with her paw or physically taking them somewhere else. It only helped slightly, but he was thankful for her efforts.

Unlike their mother, however, they actually enjoyed the company of people other than Hallelujah, rubbing against anyone who entered the apartment and fighting for attention while they were there. There was one painful catch when it came to dealing with the kittens…if one mentioned that they wanted to 'take' any of them away from the others they would become irate, lashing out at whoever had made the comment. So it pretty much went without saying that they were…pretty _bonded_ to one another.

"Alright, alright, I'm getting it." Allelujah said, trying his best to keep his balance as three very hungry kittens rubbed up against his legs as they whined. They had gotten bigger, but could still fit in the palm of one's hand.

His brother (though he would _never_ admit it) love this aspect about them, and even though it took a little squinting the 'elder' Haptism always seemed to have a faint blush on his face whenever he picked one up. For such a hard ass he loved his 'children' unconditionally, always treating them well and practically spoiling them. Even when upset with the second youngest he never took it out on them, opting out to instead seek comfort from there. The kitten obviously knew who their papa was and that he was troubled, because they run to the door the moment he returned home from a job. He would always give them a small 'I missed you too' before spending most of the evening on the couch, or if he had work to be done locking himself in his apartment and not coming down until dinner. It was a really hard thing to watch…

Tieria on the other hand did nothing but complain that Hallelujah was working him like some kind of animal, treating him poorly without a second thought. This was probably true, but this didn't stop the 'younger' Haptism from wanting to stop him. They were both in bad position, but this particular time he felt the need to side with his brother. Of course he didn't feel any ill will towards the second youngest, he just wanted him to stop and really think about the situation.

Sighing a little he placed the small dish of kitten food on the ground, watching as the three felines practically devoured it in no time. It was Sunday…he should've been doing something, getting out of the house and enjoying the fact that he didn't have to work. But instead he was inside brooding over his brother and Tieria's issues. He was too worrisome, he knew, and probably should've allowed them to figure out how to deal with their own predicament. But…he was just too goddamn kindhearted for his own good. Leaving the kitchen he retreated to his room, promptly plopping on the bed upon entering. Looking over at the nightstand where his cell phone resided, Allelujah contemplated calling the second youngest and acting as if he just wanted to tag along on while he was on the job. Truth be told he had never actually seen his brother work, had never seen the passion he put into his photos only the end result.

It wasn't that he found photography boring; in fact he found it rather fascinating ever since his brother had taken a liking to it…but it was precisely because of his brother that he never got to see such a side of him. When he actually asked if he could come along on one of job, Hallelujah would turn him down without a second thought, saying that he'd only 'annoy' him while he was working. Maybe that was true…but he was sure the real reason was that he didn't want everyone to see that side of him. He was _that _kind of person, the one who only showed their talents off to a certain few. It was probably more of an embarrassment factor more so than him just not being trusting, because his brother had already allowed the second youngest into his little photographer bubble. It was much easier to show off something when that person was not related by blood, he knew this for a fact since he too had hobbies he didn't allow the 'eldest' Haptism to interfere with (or know about).

He was slightly startled when he saw his phone vibrate, indicating that he had received a text message. Quickly getting up he snatched it off of the night stand, holding his breath as he so. What if it was from Tieria? If it was, what would it say? Would it say that he was lonely and wanted company? If so, why had his brother left him? His head was beginning to hurt…so it was probably best for him to just see who it was from before giving himself an ulcer. It wasn't from the second youngest, but instead it was from Feldt. '_You need to get down to Harajuku ASAP_' was all it said, and as he scrolled down he could clearly see that there was a picture attached to it. Clicking the attachment a small blush began to form on his face…it was Tieria…wearing what looked like Gothic Lolita dress. Granted this wasn't the first time he'd seen him in something similar, but it didn't dull the sensation in his chest he always got when he saw him in such clothes. Though it did beg the question…

Wasn't he supposed to be working?

That made quite a few thoughts begin to pop into his head, but he decided that instead of freaking out over the fact that the second youngest wasn't working he'd just go and investigate for himself. Because he had taken a shower not too long ago the only thing he needed to do was change his clothes, because he was sure no one wanted him running around in his boxer that had smiley faces on them (Tieria had gotten them as a present for his last birthday, and he'd admit they were rather comfortable). Slipping open one of the drawers to the dresses that was located not too far from the nightstand, he removed both a shirt and a pair of pants. Two of the drawers belonged to him while the other two belonged to the second youngest, who absolutely refused to allow their clothes to mix (he said it was 'embarrassing'). It was cute, seeing him getting all flustered over their clothes going into the wash together. Hallelujah always made the same 'it's not like we haven't seen your_ panties_ before' comment, which always got him hit in retaliation.

Once fully clothed he announced to the kittens in the kitchen that he was leaving, mainly because they liked knowing when someone was coming and going. He saw Neko on the couch told her look after the triples, to which she gave him an 'of course dumbass, they're _my_ kids' look before leaving. She truly was his brother's cat. It wouldn't take too long to get to Harajuku by train, and if he hurried he'd be able to catch the first train that got there. He walked with brisk steps out of the apartment complex, knowing that the station wasn't too far from his current position. Strangely enough both he and his brother owned drivers licenses, but did not use them since they did not own any form of transportation…and for Hallelujah (and everyone's safety) this was a good thing. He had driven a total of three times in his entire life, and all three times everyone in the car thought they were doing to die. Calling him a horrible driver would've been an understatement, instead it was best to give him the tile 'Devil of the Streets' and just be done with it. How he avoided traffic cops was a miracle in itself.

The heat outside was insane, and it was probably because of this that the train station was practically empty. Just like he predicted as soon as he arrived the train that would take him directly to Harajuku had also, and so he quickly boarded. He found himself sitting next to one of the sole people actually inside the train, which was fine, as long as he didn't have to stand. It was rather hard for him to not notice the person sitting next to him…the way she clinched at the bag in her lap, the way her body visibly showed that she was tense for some reason. But her face seemed to contradict her body…she a smiling, though almost impossible to see, it was still there. She muttered something to herself, and he swore he heard a name that was familiar to him…so he repeated it.

"Dylandy?"

She looked over at him, startled, which made him stuttered slightly.

"I-I'm sorry for intruding, b-but I just know someone with the same last name, s-so…" He began to trail on, sounding like an idiot in the process. She looked at him for a good minute before allowing her smile to show a bit more.

"He's my little brother's teacher." She said, opening her bag as he did so. She presented a picture to him, and by all of the children in it he could clearly see that it was a class photo.

In the middle of the group was their teacher, Lockon, who looked like he was trying to hide a pained expression with a fake smile…which seemed logical given that there was a younger blond girl stepping on his foot. She pointed to a small boy clinging rather tightly to the Dylandy twin's pant leg, announcing that was the brother he had previously spoken of. Truth be told he looked extremely timid, which wasn't completely uncommon when it came to certain kids when younger. Children were either extremely outgoing or rather shy he had come to lean from the years he spent with the others.

"He's a nice boy…" The woman next to him said, voice suddenly filled with sadness, "And his teacher is very kind for helping him…"

Allelujah didn't have a clue what that could've meant since it in no way sounded like she was speaking about anything school related, but still he merely shrugged it off. The two of them didn't talk for long since her stop was the very next one, but before leaving she introduced herself as 'Kinue'. She truly did look troubled…and it was probably best that he not contact Lockon to find out what he had done for her brother. He had his own problems to worry about, so it didn't seem right to meddle in Dylandy twin's affairs. Of course he didn't mean 'affair' was in 'he was cheating', oh no, he was much too dedicated to Setsuna for something like that to happen. Plus he was sure he youngest would _literally_ kill him if he did something like that, and the same could be said Lyle as well. Allelujah knew his friends a bit too well it seemed.

The time on the train passed by relatively fast, mainly because he had so much on his mind that he just couldn't focusing on what was going on around him. He really had no plan of attack upon arriving, just to find the Shinjuku girls and ask Tieria why he wasn't with his brother…and from there he wasn't sure what would happen next. If what he suspected was true, that the second youngest had gotten into a fight with the 'elder' Haptism, then would try his best to play peacekeeper and if it was really bad he'd have to try his best to not make Tieria cry. There were two things he hated seeing more than anything else: the slight younger male getting hurt and crying. It was heart wrenching…especially when he didn't know how to make either of those problems go away.

"Maybe I'm just weak…" He muttered to himself, mind filling with all the time he tried to failed to save the other male from the humiliation his parents put him through. He couldn't be around all the time, it was humanly impossible, but this did not stop him from feeling that he had failed in some form.

Letting out a deep sigh (he was sure he'd be doing that a lot in the near future) he continued on, figuring that if he just followed the crowed he'd eventually find the three. Tokyo was just as hot as Osaka, something he wasn't surprised about, in fact he had to wonder if Tieria was feeling alright in the clothes he was wearing. From the pictures he was wearing _all_ black, and the only thing he hoped was that Christina and Feldt had enough pity on him to dress him in something a little brighter. But then again the clothes the two girls made were actually rather comfortable no matter what the season, so maybe there was no need for a change. He'd find out soon anyway. Wading through the sea of people, he finally found a clearing ahead, and by all the camera phone flashes going off he knew that he had reached his destination.

Harajuku was an interesting place to be, especially on Sunday, and especially when the 'Harajuku crew' was around. Of course this was made up of more than just the girl and guys who dressed in colorful clothing (more than just Lolita of course); there was always something going on, be it street performers or amateur bands that played their music from everyone to hear. There was always some kind of event that caused a crowed…unless it was raining, but still a few brave souls decided they still wanted to do their thing even when the weather said otherwise. Just as he was about to break through the crowed to get to the center, he stopped himself, eyes fixated on a certain individual that crouched casually against a shop that sold…well Allelujah really wasn't sure, but it look suspicious as all hell.

He wanted to walk over, but a debate raged in his mind…should he really go over? Or deal with that person later? Well…it did always seem better to deal with the hardest nut to crack, so with a light scratch to the back of his head he slowly approached the figure he'd been eying. The 'younger' Haptism wasn't even acknowledged as he stood next to his brother, which was slightly expected since he was fiddling with his camera. That was never a good thing…the only time Hallelujah ever 'fiddled' with his camera was when something was wrong with it.

"So, um-"

"Tieria broke it…" The 'elder' Haptism said, never one looking up at the other male, "but…I'm not mad…because it was my fault."

Two things startled him greatly about the sentence that had just left his brother's mouth…that Tieria had broken his camera, his pride and joy, and that he was _**not**_ upset about it or blaming him for it. Something in the universe had gone horrible out of whack…because for Hallelujah to own up to anything he had done 'wrong' _willingly_ meant something rather profound. He stared down at him, rather amazed that he had just witnessed something that would probably never occur again. It was then that he noticed the rather blank look on his face, as if he was so lost in thought that his body lacked the right emotion to show what it wanted. Allelujah hesitated for a moment before crouching down next to him, and hesitated even longer to place his hand on top of the other male's head. His brother looked over at him, eyes fill with confusion…and if he didn't know him any better he'd say he looked like he was about to cry.

"I feel like shit…" He admitted, eyes trailing to the side as if he was trying to hide his gaze from the other male.

"Did you tell him…? I'm sure he feels just as bad as you do."

"Of course he feels like shit too! Why the fuck else would he run off? Ugh, I shouldn't have glared at him, but fuck, it's just my natural response to shit. Fuck, it's still my fault he's pissed off, goddammit it's my fault he's _been_ pissed off at him. I'm a goddamn brat, I know, but I shouldn't take my shit out on him. FUCK! This sucks so hard! I-"

He had heard enough…The hand that was placed onto of the 'elder' Haptism's head was removed, and in a rather rough fashion it struck the other male across the face. That would mark the second time he had intentionally hit his brother in anger. Holding his cheek Hallelujah looked over at him, stunned to say the least, but as he began to open his mouth his brother cut him off.

"Hallelujah Haptism does not get himself down…he is a person of action rather than words, and I'll be damned if I see that person start acting like a whiny, little asshole."

Yes, it was completely out of character of him to say something like that, yes, he probably could've been a little gentler with his delivery…but that was not what his brother needed. He rarely comforted his brother, but he knew all to well that sweet talk didn't work with him. He hated it and it would only make the situation worse…so why even attempt it? The 'elder' Haptism looked at him for a good moment before proceeding to burst into a fit of laughter, holding his side and his cheek as he did so. He admitted that he felt so goddamn pathetic getting lectured by his 'younger' brother, and to top it all off he was right. A smile made itself known on his face, because it was a first time in the past couple of months that Hallelujah looked like _Hallelujah_. The 'younger' Haptism watched as the other stood, stretching his legs once up.

"You're right, this isn't like me. Not at all. So…" He started to trail off, leaving as he did so. Quickly Allelujah followed, the two of them making their way threw the crowed of people until they break through to a semi-clearing.

The two of them then went about asking every group of 'strangely' dressed people they came in contact with if they had seen the second youngest, Hallelujah giving the description of 'glasses wearing dude-girl'. A good portion of them did know what they were talking about (because of his brother crappy description), though they did managed to find one group that directed them to the right spot…but it took much longer to find than Allelujah had bargained for. It didn't help that the 'elder' Haptism wanted to stop to get something to eat from one of the many food stand, but of course he wasn't asking so Allelujah was pretty much dragged along to each and every one his brother found interesting. At least he had gotten his appetite back…For the past few months he just didn't seem to eat much, maybe a bento box he bought from the convenience store and a single melonpan, but that was pretty much it for the rest of the day. He would pick with dinner, not touching most of it and chalk it up to him 'not feeling well'.

"Found them." Hallelujah said in-between bites of his meat bun. He promptly shoved it against the 'younger' Haptism before walking off, Allelujah knowing that this was something he needed to do alone so he stayed behind. He really hoped his brother didn't screw this up…

He watched from afar as the second youngest was approached, watched as a look of horror overcame him as he took a step back. He had ever right to be afraid, especially since he had no knowledge that the 'elder' Haptism was actually there to apologize. Well…he was sure his brother was going to 'apologize' in his own little way. That's just who he was. He really couldn't hear all that well because of the distance, but he could at least tell that whatever words had left Hallelujah's mouth had calmed the other male down somewhat. Okay, so things were going well. He decided to finish off his brother's meat bun as he watched the two of them continue to speak, wondering briefly if it would end with the two of them tussling on the ground. When the two of them were younger that was pretty much how they settled things…with their fist. He was the one that always had to break them up, and in the end the two of them would grumble about it for a few hours before deciding it was time to move on.

Luckily he was sure they had grown out of that phase…but unfortunately his brother had not out grown his spontaneous nature. He nearly chocked when he saw Hallelujah pull the other male forward, planting a kiss on him that actually looked like he was eating his face, starting with his mouth. Common decency was something his brother always seemed to lack. _Always_. Even if the sight before him was a little out of the blue, the 'younger' couldn't help but chuckle slightly, feeling grateful that his brother had returned to his normal state. Christina was pretty much drooling and squealing (quite literally) over the fact that she had witnessed live-action boy on boy, while Feldt covered her eyes though obviously peeking through her fingers, probably knowing that she was witnessing an intimate moment but battled with her inner fangirl on whether she should've been viewing it or not. Shaking his head a little he walked over, grabbing the attention of the second youngest.

"You're here too?" Tieria said, a slightly surprised look coming over his features.

"What? You don't want me to be?" He teased, causing the slightly younger male's face to flush as he squeaked out an 'o-of course I want you here!' in a rather high pitch tone.

The second youngest then began to smooth the bottom of his dress down, as if trying to make it longer. It was a bit on the short side, showing off his legs…and he was sure if a nice, stiff wind blew through the area everyone would've been in for a treat. Reaching down he stopped the other male from continuing on, commenting that he liked looking at his legs since they were his best features. He blushed slightly at this, which made the 'younger' Haptism feel a hell of a lot better about the situation. Tieria wasn't crying and didn't look hurt, so as far as he was concerned everything was alright and he hadn't failed the other.

"Yeah, yeah, I like his legs too. Now, if you two are done talking…" Hallelujah started, slinging the slightly younger male over his shoulder as he spoke, "We have some business to take care of."

"O-Oi, wait a minute, where are you taking me?" The slightly younger male screeched, trying his best to shield his rear-end from the world.

"Love hotel. We have some catching up to do."

Well, at least Allelujah knew the two of them wouldn't be home for a while.


	26. The Beach Chapter

His mind was somewhere else entirely, which wasn't all that great since he was sure his wife was speaking to him about something. Why was his mind bothering him so much? Because the problem dealt with one of his students, and the only thing Neil could be happy about was that it wasn't Louise for once. He had always noticed how withdrawn Saji was, always noticed that even around the younger blonde girl he seemed distressed (but then again who wouldn't), but thought nothing of it. Some children were just like that, he had at least three during his first year of teaching, and including Saji he had a total of two his current year. Never once did he think there was an actual _reason _for the young boy's shyness. The reason? Well…his sister had hadn't gone into full detail, but it was clear that their parents weren't really fit to be called such a thing.

When Neil was introduced to such a problem his day had started much pretty routine, at least when it came to the last Sunday of the previous month. He always woke up late on the weekends, mainly because he could and partially because his wife allowed it (for the most part). Of course if Amy was over it was a completely different story; she loved nothing more than pouncing on her big brothers, jumping up and down while shouting 'up Onii-chan!' as she giggled loudly. Was he a little annoyed? Of course, but he couldn't stay mad at Amy for wanting her brother ups. Though he was sure a few times Setsuna had sent her there just to mess with them, the younger male always denying this fact as he smiled sweetly at him. Yeah, he was doing it on purpose…but at least he was having fun with his sister in law.

To be completely honest the other male was seriously concerned about his wife's relationship with the younger girl, mainly because the first thing he said when she was born was 'she won't like me'. Just because he had a bad track record with children in the past didn't mean all of them would hate him, in fact Neil decided to make it his personal mission to show Setsuna that his little sister loved him. How? By teaching Amy how to say 'Setsuna'. She managed to get it…sort of…she really couldn't grasp the whole thing, so she just needed up calling him 'Tuna' for a good while. It was adorable as all hell, and even cuter watching the younger male trying to teach her how to say his name correctly. She would always laugh when two of them were together, always clung to him whenever she could…and if that didn't show how much she cared for him then Neil was pretty much out of options.

Amy, after awhile, started calling the younger male 'Tsuna Onii-chan' which always seemed to make him smile. The two of them were close, and maybe that was why the younger male liked to spoil her so much…though of course his wife denied such a thing. But she wasn't there that morning, so that meant he could finally get some sleep. Taking care of a child wasn't all that hard, but taking care of an entire group was tiresome as all hell. He was thankful for the weekends because he was sure he'd burn out pretty easily it he didn't get two days of rest. He fully intended to do absolutely nothing that entire day and stay in bed, but when Setsuna asked him to help with chores later on he couldn't help but groan. He hated doing chores on the weekend! He always had! He knew that ignoring the younger male and pretending to be asleep wasn't an option, because the last time he tried his wife slammed his elbow into his side rather harshly. Neil was tired dammit!

But his rest was short lived the moment the clock struck twelve noon, Setsuna coming in and pretty much ripping the blanket off of him. Why the hell wasn't Lyle helping? Oh, that's right…his brother was at work…Because Lyle was just oh so nice, he decided to take over someone else's shift on his day off, the person in question pretty much begging him to do so. The youngest did not like this in the slightest since it meant less time with the other male, so he pretty much took his frustration out on his choirs. It didn't help at all that the particular Sunday Lyle had decided to work was the one the three of them were supposed to go out together, which further brought the other male's mood down. Setsuna stayed silent for most of the day, which meant the other male was in for it the moment he set foot in the apartment. Was he necessarily going to get hit? No…but he was sure the youngest would make him _wish _to be physically harmed.

As of recently it had becoming slightly harder for the three of them to go out, only because their schedules were so different. For him it was getting closer to summer, and because of this his school days had become slightly more hectic. His students had becoming increasingly rowdy since they knew their break was approaching, and as such Neil had to work twice as hard to keep them under control. Marina told him that it helped to have them plan out what they were going to do before they left, since it would sometimes be the last time his entire class would be together. Yeah…he knew this fact all too well. Children were usually moved around to different classes when the new school year started, and even if they were all still under the same roof it felt strange not having the same class as before. This was one of the downsides to being a teacher…that he had to watch the students he had become so attached to leave. It was sad, but he was sure he'd cope with it eventually.

When it came to drawing his class was voted the best, and he really did love looking over what they were going to do for the summer. A good handful of them were going to the beach, while a few were visiting relatives in places a little ways away from Osaka…but of course Louise just has to be different. She had managed to make an entire stack of paper of all the things she 'wanted' to do for the summer, most the pictures involving something so unimaginably impossible that he dare not tell her so. At least she had a well rounded imagination. Saji on the other hand hadn't drawn a thing, and if he asked if it was because he couldn't think of anything the only thing he received from the younger boy was a blank stare followed by a head shake. It was odd to say the least, but he didn't think much of it at first.

By the time the two of them had made it into the kitchen, both the living room and bathroom completely spotless, his wife had come to the realization that he needed to go grocery shopping since they were having company over. Both Christina and Feldt had actually decided to ask this time around instead of just coming over unannounced, which was a nice change since he and Setsuna had been interrupted one too many times with his friend's constant surprise visits. He didn't mind, but a phone call would've been nice. Since the youngest was cooking for five Neil knew he'd be gone for a little while, so the minute he heard the front door close, signaling that Setsuna had left, he plopped on the couch and proceeded to catch on his sleep. Yes, he knew he'd be punished the moment the younger male returned, but all he needed to do was wake up before he came home.

He probably wasn't asleep for more than an hour before he heard a knock at the door, it causing him to groggily get up and answer it. He was pretty sure it wasn't either Setsuna or Lyle since they usually called if they had forgotten their keys, so he was completely at a loss as to who he'd be meeting once the door was open. As a young girl stood before him he looked slightly confused, but as his sleep ridden eyes began to adjust he managed to figure out that he knew the person in question. Kinue Crossroad, Saji's older sister who usually picked him up after her high school let out, stood in front of him with an extremely nervous look on her face. Before Neil could say anything she instantly blurted out they needed to talk, and the only time he'd heard those line was when something serious had come up.

Without any hesitation he allowed her in, noticing that her brother was not with her. When he asked where he was her voice wavered slightly as she said the word 'home', which caused him to really wonder why she was there. The older male offered her something to drink but she declined, apparently wanted to get whatever was on her chest off. He sat down next to her, making sure there was a somewhat of a gap between the two of them just to make sure he didn't send her the wrong signals. He was a happily married man thank you very much. Kinue didn't say anything for a good while, the only sound emitting throughout the room being the low hum of the air conditioner. But she eventually did speak, asking what he thought about Saji. Well…that was an interesting question, but he answered it truthfully. He thought the young boy was good kid, that he was shy around people he didn't know but usually warmed up to them in no time.

Neil also added that he was rather helpful when he wasn't being dragged around by a certain blonde girl. The teenage girl next to him merely nodded at all the fact he was telling her, which made him wonder even more just where this conversation was going. She looked at him, desperation clearly present in her eyes and asked…'_would you please look after Saji just for the summer since you're his favorite teacher?_' The older male pretty much stared at her with a completely bewildered look on his face. Look after Saji…? Neil needed to hear a little more, because he couldn't just take a kid in that he had absolutely no blood relationship to. Kinue stayed silent for another long moment, and it was only then the he noticed the tears in the corners of her eyes. What the hell is going on?

He tried calming her down, patting her head as he told her that everything was going to be alright when he had zero knowledge of if that was the truth or not. For some reason he sudden had to urge to make her a cup of tea, because any time Setsuna became anxious or upset about something he usually had a cup. Quickly getting up he went into the kitchen, telling her to give him a few minutes before he did so. There was no way in hell he'd be giving her milk tea, because she'd probably pass out and he wasn't sure if his wife would listen to him as he tried to explain just why there was an unconscious girl in their apartment. He'd probably be put out…So the older male went with a simple cup of peach tea, making sure it wasn't too hot because her crying more because he unintentionally burned her would've made him feel horrible.

Kinue reluctantly took the cup, taking a few sips before it managed to calm her down. Whipping her eyes she apologized for her sudden outburst, Neil shaking his head as he told her that it was completely alright. With a deep sigh she began telling him a rather horrible story, one about how she was the only one that took care of her younger brother and how her parents would rather indulge in their personal affairs rather than worry about their own children. The two of them were verbally abusive, usually going for Saji because he was an easy target since he was so young. She didn't want that kind of life for her brother…but sadly it was the only life he'd ever known. That made the older male's heart sink…The younger high school girl pleaded with him again, asking Neil to just watch her brother until she managed to find apartment away from her parents during the summer.

He really didn't know what to say…of course he wanted to take one of his students away from such a horrible situation, but it was so sudden. The look on her face has such a sense of urgency to it, so saying something like 'give me a day or two to think about it' wouldn't work on her. God, he'd be an compete ass if he turned her down, but this wasn't something he could easily say yes or no to. Sighing a little he told her that he really didn't mind looking after her brother, but he needed to be given a day to talk things over with everyone in the apartment before making such a big decision…apparently Kinue only heard the first part. She leaped at him, wrapping her arms around him as she gave him a rather loud 'thank you!' as she wept again. Well he had pretty much sealed his own fate…what the hell was he going to tell Setsuna and his own brother? That's what he thought about as he let her out and watched her walk down the hall, the young high school girl's disposition changing dramatically.

Plopping back on the couch he tried to think of the best way to explain that their apartment would have one more living in it, and as he did so he began to feel a sickly feeling begin to well up inside of him. He knew very well that not all parents were perfect, that not all of them treated their children they way they were supposed to. This point was proven with Tieria and his family issues; though for some reason he seemed to neglect the fact that the world was cruel to certain children as he grew up. Neil never once thought he'd be faced with a child whose home life was in no way normal, but then again he wasn't necessarily supposed to know about that part of his students. Home life was something he was not allowed to get involved with at all, and if something did catch his attention he was told to report it to Mannequin-san, the director, immediately. Teachers were not supposed to interfere with the personal lives of their students…

But Neil had unintentionally done just that…Later on that night, when both of the Shinjuku girls had left and Lyle had received his punishment (no sex for a week…the poor bastard…) he confronted the younger male as he was changing for bed, the oldest feeling slightly worried about just how he was going to take it. Dealing with Amy with one thing, but he didn't have a clue how Setsuna would take a foreign child being around. He tried thinking of how to start the conversation, because just blurting out 'one of my students if going to be staying over here for the summer' was way too direct. Thinking for a good while, long enough for the younger male to get into bed, he finally managed to think of something.

Neil asked what the younger male thought of the two of them having a child, the other tensing as he spoke. He really needed to be delicate about what he said, because if he worded his sentences wrong it would seem like he was asking his wife to bare his child…which was a touchy subject since he, well, couldn't. From the way the younger male was looking at him Neil knew that he had already screwed up. Quickly he corrected himself, asking what he thought of a child staying over for a little while…one that wasn't his sister-in-law. There was a small silence between them, Setsuna obviously wanting to say something but just what was the real question. When the oldest was pinned down, his wife giving him a rather concerned look, he wasn't quite sure how he had taken it.

However…he was sure that Setsuna had in no way gotten his hint when he said 'kidnapping was a crime'. What? Oh god, that wasn't what he was trying to say at all! Groaning a little he began explaining Saji and his sister's situation, that he would be keeping the boy for the summer and that he was NOT kidnapping him. With a small 'oh' the younger male released him, realizing his mistake as he backed off. Neil was about to ask if he was completely alright with the situation, but was cut off when the younger male pressed his lips against his. Well…that was unexpected, but he was enjoying himself quite a bit. Reaching up he brought his wife a little closer, parting as soon as he felt the other male begin to let up.

He wouldn't go so far was to say that seeing Setsuna really smile was a rare thing, but when he actually witnessed such a thing he couldn't help but feel his chest tighten a bit. He said that his 'husband was sweet' as wrapped his arms around him, adding that he didn't mind if one of his students stayed over for the summer. The two of them stayed like that for a good while, Neil stroking the younger male's hair until he was sure he was asleep. Thank god he had been so reasonable, though he did have to wonder when the time came if the younger male would actually feel the same. Saji was a shy kid and as such he feared that Setsuna would take this shyness as a form of rejection, ultimately leading to his wife's complete withdrawal from the younger boy. It was the last thing he wanted, Saji feeling tension from anyone in the apartment that was, and if that actually did happen he wasn't quite sure how he'd fix the problem.

Lyle pretty much agreed just as fast as the youngest did, adding that as long as he treated Amy well there would be no problem between them. Of course their sister would've been ecstatic to have a playmate during the summer, and he was sure the younger boy would love playing with another girl other than Louise. The blonde girl pretty much scared away anyone who dared get close to him, which was rather troublesome since Saji clearly _wanted _to interact with the other kids. He tried telling her that she needed to let up a little, but of course she merely dismissed his words as 'stupid'. She really had a problem with respecting any kind of authority…but after thinking about it Neil was sure she just hated him.

The day he was supposed to take Saji home with him was chaotic, because it just happened to be the last day of the school year. Everybody was eager to get the hell out of that building and get their summer started; for him summer meant his wife wearing fewer clothes, meaning that the view would've been damn impressive. Setsuna during the summer was an amazing site, but now that he was having company over the oldest needed to control himself…which would probably be a feat in itself. Though that wasn't to say he didn't have an ounce of self-control in him, or else he would've been humping air whenever he thought about the other. It was just a matter of getting more control over himself so that he didn't traumatize the poor kid with his behavior around the other male. The last thing he wanted the small boy to tell anymore was that his teacher was a pervert.

By the time school had finally let out, happy that they had finally be released, Neil unfortunately had to stay behind since someone had forgotten to pick up Louise (again). He waited with her, Saji, and a rather large suitcase the younger boy's sister had dropped off, all the while the young blonde kept glaring at him. What the hell had he done now? He was just sitting on the goddamn front steps! Thankfully before her verbal assault could start her mother had arrive, Louise practically leaping into her arms. When she was finally gone both he and Saji left his apartment, not a word said from the small boy in the process. The older male could understand…this was certainly different for him, living with someone who he only saw as an educational instructor and nothing more. Neil had to admit that even he would feel uneasy if he had to live with one of his old teachers.

The sun had already set by the time the two of them had reached their destination, Saji tightly holding onto his hand like something was going to jump out of nowhere and get him, and he was sure the younger male would be worried slightly since he had not called him ahead of time. He'd probably be lenient with him once Neil told him that he was looking after Louise, because he knew how much the younger male hated it when he didn't call if he was going to be late. As he stepped into the apartment he noticed the young boy begin to cling to him even more, the oldest having to pick him up and tell him that everything was going to be okay. He really hoped that was true…

There was quite a lot of doubt roaming around in his mind if Kinue actually would find a place of her own, and honestly he really hoped she did, not because he disliked her little brother or anything like that. Their situation was a horrible one, and he would've liked nothing more than to see them get out of it. But sometime it wasn't that simple…sometimes Fate liked to throw a few curve balls into the plans of desperate people, making it so their goal was a little harder to reach. He didn't know what kind of person Saji's sister was, and as such didn't know if she was strong enough to deal with trials that she was obviously about to face…Neil could only hope for the best…

Setsuna walked out of the kitchen and greeted them, obviously preparing dinner before the two of them had walked in. Smiling a little the younger male introduced himself, presenting a hand to him in the process. Saji just looked at it for a good while before looking up at him, the oldest having to tell him that it was alright for him to take it. As hesitant as he was he still took it regardless, making Neil feel a little more optimistic about the younger boy accepting his wife. Once the introductions were over Setsuna told him that dinner would be ready soon, adding that Neil probably should've shown the younger boy to his new room. The previous day they had worked out the living arrangements, Lyle willingly giving up his room and opting to sleep on the couch while Saji was staying with them. Of course this meant his room needed to cleaned, something his brother rarely did so it was a complete mess.

Because he was an 'adult' the youngest felt he didn't need to tell him to clean it since he 'wasn't his mother', but this didn't stop him from complaining the moment he set eyes on it. Dirty clothes were the biggest offender, and this further pissed Setsuna off, so much so that he made Lyle wash everything the youngest deemed 'dirty'. A lot of clothes were washed that day, and in the end his brother's room came out spotless (Setsuna made sure of this). Saji said the room was 'nice' as he climbed up on the bed, wrapping the blanket around himself with only his head peeking out from a small hole he had male. He was hiding…or at least attempting to. He had only seen one other person do such a thing, the person being his own wife when much younger. He'd never admitted it out loud but when Setsuna was smaller he was deathly afraid of storms, so when a nasty one was about to roll in he always rushed over to the older male's house, jumping into his futon and wrapping himself up tight with the blanket.

Neil knew how to deal with this situation…Walking over he sat next to their new house guest, gently patting his head as he told the small boy that he had no reason to be afraid. He continued on adding that everyone was nice and wouldn't hurt him, and if he waited a bit he'd get to have a playmate. Since it was the summer Amy was guaranteed to come over as often was she could, which did perk Saji up. He and his little sister did get along rather well whenever she dropped by the kindergarten, she being one of the very few (and only) females that Louise allowed around the young boy. Since pushing him wasn't necessarily the best thing for him at the moment, Neil decided to leave him alone and wait till he was ready to join the rest of them.

Rejoining his wife in the kitchen, he plopped down at the table as he sighed deeply. He knew it would've been a little hard the first few days, but when Saji didn't come out of his room for three days he was seriously starting to worry. The only sign that there was life on the other side of the door was the empty food tray that was left on the floor outside of it. Setsuna, not wanting the poor kid to starve, always left a tray of food by the door every morning, noon, and evening. He tried talking to the small boy through the door, asking if there was something special he wanted to eat or if he wanted to go somewhere. Of course he was constantly met with silence, but this didn't stop him from trying. When it looked as if Saji would be staying in his room for another day, both he and his wife had managed to coach him out. Even if it took most of the day it was well worth the end result. Once he was formally introduced to everyone, the smaller boy absolutely shocked that there was someone that looked exactly like his teacher (though he was sure he'd told everyone in his class that he had a twin), everything seemed to go pretty well from then on.

When Amy finally did come over both she and Saji had a ball, Setsuna doing most of the entertaining. What Neil wasn't expecting as his little sister to bring over a 'friend' and this wouldn't have been such a problem if said friend wasn't _Louise_. She had probably seen Amy on the street and followed her, and if that wasn't the case how the hell did all of these people know where he lived? The young blonde pretty much acted like an angel whenever Setsuna way around, but as soon as the younger left the room she was constantly threatening to call the police since she was sure he had kidnapped Saji. It wasn't kidnapping! He really should've just kicked her out, or at least looked her number up in the phone book to call _someone_ to come and take her away. Wasn't she supposed to be abroad with her family or something? She had written it down as one of things she was going to do for the summer, but that could've been a lie along with the many other things she had drawn.

When the afternoon finally came he decided to call the young blonde's house, because he was sure they were panicking because their daughter had gone missing for so long. Once someone finally answered he introduced himself as Louise's teacher, adding that she was with him and that'd he'd bring her home right away. The other voice on the line, obviously her mother, told her that there was no need for that, that it was rather convenient for her to be staying over there since she'd be leaving town for a few weeks. Wait, what? He was supposed to take care of _her_ for a _few weeks_? Before he could say anything to correct the situation, the young blonde's mother told him that her daughter's clothes would be coming over shortly before hanging up. What…the hell…Neil was at a complete loss of words. Taking care of two children wasn't the problem…the problem was taking care of Louise. He honestly thought that the summer would be his break away from her, but apparently some unseen forced decided to screw with him…

Goddammit…but he would try his hardest to make the best out of the situation.

That day all of them were supposed to take a trip to the beach, something both his own little sister and the younger blonde had been nagging him about for weeks. Since Hallelujah apparently had a job to do down there, he volunteered drive the lot of them down there…which scared the living daylights out of anyone who had every gotten into a car with him. It wasn't that the 'elder' Haptism's driving was horrible…okay, so it was that he was an absolutely horrible driver and should've had his license suspended just to keep the other people on the road safe, but it was a slightly better alternative than being crammed into a hot train car with a bunch of sweaty people. But getting into that death trap of a car or van that Hallelujah rented was starting outweigh getting into a hot train car with people… so he decided to hold a vote.

Just to make it fair Setsuna decided to withdraw from the vote, leaving both of the twins to deal with whatever the three children had to say. Obviously both he and his brother voted for the train, Amy and Louise taking the second option since it was 'faster' (oh…it was _fast_ alright) which just left Saji with the deciding vote. It was a lot of pressure to put on him, especially since the young blonde was obviously sending him signals about which option he should choose. Just to calm him down his wife comforted him, telling him that no matter what he decided no one would hate him for it. But Neil really couldn't help but wince a little as the young boy chose to go with the car ride.

The seating was pretty simple; the 'elder' Haptism and Tieria sat in the first row, Saji, Louise, and Amy in the middle row, while he, his brother and Setsuna sat in the back. Allelujah said he'd be joining them a bit later, apparently needing to finish up a few things before meeting up with them. The lucky bastard… The children were kept together so they could entertain themselves, while the older folks stayed in the back and braced for what was to come. As soon as Hallelujah started the ignition he felt his wife grip his pant's leg, and there was no use telling him that everything was going to be alright when he knew goddamn well that would've been a lie.

How all of them managed to get to the beach in one piece was a miracle, though the nasty case of vertigo everyone over the age of five received was a reminder of just who was driving. Of course all those that actually were the age of five found the ride to be immensely fun, asking him if they could 'do it again' when they decided to go back home. He had the horrible urge to shout 'HELL NO! ARE YOU CRAZY?' at them, but since Neil knew they didn't know any better he merely told them 'we'll see'. The 'elder' Haptism went off in some random direction with the second youngest, saying that if they wanted to go home they were better off taking the train. Thank god…there was no way in hell they were getting back into that goddamn van. After claiming a spot of their own the oldest pretty much had to take a break, his vertigo still very prevalent as he lied down on the towel placed neatly under the umbrella they had brought with them.

Setsuna sat next to him, hand gently stroking his hair but eyes never once leaving the small group of children that played near the water. It was like…a mother hawk watching her young, ever vigilant and always caution. Neil commented on this, saying that he found this particular side of him rather interesting to watch, which earned him nothing but silence and small blush from the other male. He really would've made a good kindergarten teacher, maybe even better than the older male, and he wondered if it was alright to have him over as an assistant from time to time. It would probably be fun for the two of them to work together, but he'd probably be scold by his wife for being too laid back with the children. As much as he talked about him the older male was sure the staff already knew him pretty well, so it wouldn't be a problem if he actually did start working with him.

But this meant less time for him to work with Lichty and the others, something he took great joy in. He'd met all of them the people his wife worked with, and excluding Johann (he'd kill the bastard if he never saw him on the street) they were all pretty strange but relatively nice people. He didn't to keep the youngest away from the people who made him happy, even if it was for a short while, so he would withhold asking if his wife could join him. After he had completely recovered from his vertigo he decided to join the other, or rather save Lyle from the small group of children that had tackled him. The sole blonde in the group actually liked his brother a hell of a lot more than him, she also being one of the few people who could tell them apart with just a glance. She said it was because Lyle gave off a 'less annoying aura'. How sweet…The six of them did nothing but have a good time for awhile, but as the sun began to set it became painfully obvious that certain young children were finally running out of energy.

"Don't wanna walk, pick me up" Louise said as he held her arms up to the older male, demanding tone suggested that she was now playing around.

"Can't you at least say please?"

"No. Up. Now."

Sighing a little he did what he was told, picking the young blonde up as she wrapped her arms around his neck. When tired children had the tendency to become irritable, so Neil decided to just shut up and deal with Louise's demanding ways. He knew she really wouldn't be any better if she had her eight hours, but that just meant it was just another day with the blonde for him. Saji pretty much passed out as soon as the younger male picked him up, leaving only Amy awake though even she looked to be on her way to dreamland. The train they needed to take wouldn't be there for another twenty minutes, so the six of them sat at a nearby bench and patiently waited. As always his wife sat in the middle, a habit that was never broken.

"This is…only for the summer, right?" Setsuna said, tone completely unreadable which did startle the oldest a little.

"Yeah, well I mean I don't know about Louise, but I'm pretty sure Saji's just here for the summer."

The youngest didn't say anything after that, and when Neil would glance over at him the expression on his face was completely blank. Once the train had finally arrived their ride was a silent one, his little sister and Lyle falling asleep while he stared out of the window next to him. He really didn't like how eerily quiet the other male was, and when he asked if there was something wrong he merely recived a small 'no'. That meant yes in his book…

"Setsuna…" Neil started, his hand lightly grasping the other male's chin so that their eyes locked.

"It's…nothing-"

"Don't tell me that…" The older male interrupted, knowing that was a complete lie.

"…It's just…that you look so happy with them around…a-and I hate knowing that I can't-"

That was quite enough…Leaning forward he captured his wife's lips, preventing him from speaking anymore. He knew this conversation was going to pop up at some point; it was one of the many things that had him worried the day Saji started living with them, and now that it had finally come he would do his best to lessen the younger male's melancholy. Neil knew that when it came to children Setsuna would always be on edge, feeling that he had failed in some way since he could not produce any offspring. It wouldn't be completely truthful for him to say that he would never want children, because he was sure there would be some point in time where he would truly want a 'family'.

However…he had his hands full with both teaching and taking care of Amy whenever she came over, and by the time he actually did consider having a family he probably would've just blown the whole thing off. As nice as it would've been to have his own child, Neil knew that he really couldn't handle the responsibly of taking care of one twenty-four seven. He was sure it probably wasn't as hard as he was imagining, but from the way his mother and every other woman that had bared a child spoke it was clear that it would be no easy task.

"Even if you could…" The older male started as he parted from his wife, "It's not something I can decide on by myself…What do you want, Setsuna?"

The other male look at him as if he seriously had never contemplated such a thing, which was probably the case. The youngest was the kind of person to put others needs before his own, sometimes neglecting that fact that it was okay to be a little selfish every now and then. Throughout the years he had never once heard his wife voice his opinion on the whole 'having a child of their own' issue, and he wanted to know if it was something _he_ truly wanted rather than him just wanting to please his husband. Setsuna paused for a moment, obviously thinking about what had just been said as his eyes shifted over to an empty part of the train car.

"I just…want you to be happy…" He finally said, eyes coming back to meet his.

"I'm already happy with you, my family, friends and everyone else. I don't need anything else." Neil said as he smiled, making the younger male blush ever so slightly. He really didn't need anything else…Even if it had its ups and downs, he was quite happy with his life. Reaching over he pulled his wife as close as he could to him, placing his head on his shoulder as he stroked his hair.

Nothing extra was needed in his life.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, I know, short chapter is short! But I didn't do this author's note just to tell you that. I wanted to make this announcement now rather than the next chapter and have everyone shocked, so here I go. This is the second to last chapter of _Unbreakable_, and I am both happy and sad because of this. I'm happy that I've managed to write a story this long, though sad that it's time for it to end. I want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing, your support is truly appreciated!


	27. The Obon Chapter

There were very few times in Setsuna's life where everything seemed…right, where the world didn't seem to be conspiring against him or his loved ones, and everything just seemed to play out correctly. This was pretty much the best way for him to describe the last two weeks for him, which was so welcome since he was pretty stressed out in unimaginable levels. Most if not all of the stress was coming from the fact that Comiket was only a few days away, which shouldn't have bothered him at all since he was pretty much finished with everything. He had managed to draw thirty six pages including both the front and back cover, Tieria took care of the story, and both of the Shinjuku girls gave it the okay. Everything was fine…even the cosplay was done. Christina said it would be a little too advertise-y to dress up like the characters in the doujin, so she and Feldt pretty much chose what they were going to wear while at the convention.

So what did they go with? Well as always every group had their own theme, group A's (him and the Dylandy twins) theme were the Vocaloids, group B's (the second youngest and the Haptism twins) theme was _Pandora Hearts _while group C's (Christina and Feldt) theme was _Pocket Monsters: Black and White_. Of course the younger male was the blonde vocaloid Len while both Lockon and Lyle would be going as Kaito and Gakupo, because he knew the two Shinjuku girls had just been _waiting_ for a good chance to use those characters for the three of them. Because they would be dressed just like the characters were in the Imitation Black music video, Setsuna would be, unfortunately, wearing a dress that would guarantee him getting some kind of attention from all kinds of people.

Liu Mei pretty much freaked out when he told her just who he was going as, asking him to take pictures if she couldn't attend. The convention was during their summer break, meaning that Lichty and all of his assistants had some time to relax. This was rather convenient since he needed all the time he could get to draw their doujin. It wasn't…_hard_ for him to do so, Setsuna just needed some extra time to calm himself down from looking at all of the semi-erotic pictures he was drawing.

Tieria, Allelujah and Hallelujah would be going as Alice, Oz, and Gilbert…of course since both Shinjuku girls liked dressing up the second youngest in women's clothes they in no way contemplated gender switching Alice, meaning he would have to wear a dress (much to the 'elder' Haptism's delight) as well. Christina and Feldt really must've worked extra hard on those outfits because they were very elaborate, much like the real ones, and he could honestly say that they looked exactly like the ones from the anime and manga. The two of them always gave it their all on their clothing, never leaving any details out or half-assing their designs…and this was the reason _no one_ ever complained about what they wore. It would've been rube beyond belief to deny their hard work, so everyone kept their mouths shut if they had something negative to say.

The Shinjuku duo decided to go as N and the male playable character from the new Pokemon games (whose name was apparently Touya by default), which didn't confuse Setsuna in the slightest. The two were always finding new pairings to like, usually spending hours on the phone with him just trying to explain how 'awesome' the two guys together were. Worst part was…he usually agreed with them about ninety percent of the time…if they were fujoshis then he was most certainly a fudanshi, a male who liked yaoi. He wouldn't go so far as to say that it was their fault for making him into one, but they definitely had a hand in it.

The youngest really didn't mind it though since everyone around him understood that it was just a part of him, though he had to endure the light teasing from his husband every now and then. Of course both Dylandy twins liked to play the doujin games he brought home from the convention with him, only because they knew how aroused he became when playing them. Though this wasn't to say they didn't have their own problems to attend to when watching him play.

The three days before the convention were sheer hell, his nerves reaching the maximum level. He started at the two boxes that contained five-hundred copies each of the doujin he had drawn, constantly worrying if he had miss-inked something or forgotten to color something on the cover or, heaven forbid, he had screwed up the order of the pages. He could not for the life of him stop his worrisome thinking, it driving him crazy and he was seriously up for anything that could take his mind off of those damn boxes. Setsuna tried baking, which in end produced three dozen cookies, two cakes, and one very nice _soufflé_ cheesecake. Unfortunately it didn't take his mind off of his potential mistakes, which didn't bother the children at all since they had sweets to snack on. His husband, who had obviously noticed his predicament, suggested that he visit one his friends as a means to just get out of the apartment.

He was really ready to give up when practically all of the people he called had something to do, though when he came to Liu Mei number he couldn't stop and stare slightly. After thinking about it he had never really spent any time with her outside of their boss's studio, and all the time the three of them went out for drinks or whatever clearly did not count. He did consider her a friend, but did not know her like he knew Christina and Feldt or Lichty for the matter. Spending time with her didn't seem like that bad of an idea, and he did owe both her and her brother for helping him out. So with a quick change of clothes he left, giving Lockon strict instructions to not let the children eat all of the sweets he had baked. Having received the female's address by phone it took him some time to get there, and upon reaching his destination he truly thought he taken a wrong turn somewhere.

Granted he knew that Liu Mei was considered 'rich', but just how rich was not something that crossed his mind until he actually stood in front of her house…It was a goddamn _mansion_.

It was probably big enough to rival Tieria's family house, which was quite the feat since the place was massive (this he only deducted from the few parts he had actually ventured into). Setsuna was obviously shocked, so much so that when invited in by whom he presumed was the butler it took him a few minutes to actually register what was going on. His moment of awe didn't stop there, oh no, as he was escorted in the youngest couldn't help but gaze around him. Extravagant was the best way for him to describe what he was witnessing, from the high ceilings to the more than a little expensive furniture he knew he had pretty much stepped into a world that he was not at all accustomed to. He feared that if he touched something it would break, so he kept his hands to himself and refused anything that he was offered.

When Hong Long escorted him to the female he had come to visit, no words were spoken at first which didn't surprise him at all. But he couldn't help but jump slightly when the other male asked if anyone had been 'messing' with him lately, the smaller male only response being to shake his head slightly. He swore the other male smiled at this…Once actually inside Liu Mei's room he found it to be…rather normal, well as normal as a rich girl's room was…though that wasn't what he meant. Usually a fan had some kind of figures or poster around the room, but she had nothing…though he would overlook the hand-held video game system since non-otakus had those as well.

The awkward feeling he had hadn't dulled at all as time when on, and obviously the sole female in the room noticed this since she offered to take him to her 'other room'. It probably shouldn't have surprised him that she actually did have more than one room to herself, given the fact that he had passed numerous room just trying to get to her…but said 'other room' just happened to be filled to the goddamn brim with anime object he could ever imagine. She even had several dakimakuras! All male of course. That was one particular item he never had a desire to buy…because there just seemed something wrong with sleeping in the same bed as your favorite character. According to Liu Mei she had such a room since he parents prohibited her from allowing such things in her own room or around the house, and if they ever saw any of it they would immediately throw it away (which would explain why the door was so heavily locked).

So her parents disapproved of her hobby…it was understandable since she was probably expected to be an elegant princess with zero flaws, and was in no way supposed to have an interesting in 2-D girls that were moe and 2-D guys that were 'pretty'. She was not supposed to be into things like cosplay or doujin or robot figures, but she was, and he was sure this displeased her parents quite thoroughly. He asked if this fact bothered her slightly, and she merely laughed, adding that her parent's opinion of her was something she need not consider since it was her life. That might've been but she was still living in their house, but he didn't bring this fact up. He would've just put her love for anime and manga as nothing more than a rebellious phase that was nothing more than a 'get back' at her parents, but from her passion he could tell that this was not the case. If she truly just wanted to piss off the people that had raised her, then she would've probably just walked around in cosplay all day.

Setsuna truly felt like he was attending a tea party, which might've been the case since he had been sitting outside on the open balcony, maid bringing them tray after tray of Earl Gray tea and an assortment of small snacks. The two of them spoke about the upcoming convention as well as their work, all the while Hong Long stood by the door as if guarding them from any intruders. From what he heard her elder brother was more of a servant to her than a brother, which seemed fairly plausible since he was always seen doing what he was told to. The younger male did wonder about this, but it was probably something of a family matter and his policy with those was to not interfere unless asked to. About two hours into their 'party' he decided to ask her option on something, that something being his anxiety level and the Comiket where it would be his first time participating as a seller and not just a normal attendee. Liu Mei thought about this for a moment, Setsuna sitting in silence all the while.

And then she smiled, saying that he should have fun with it even if he made mistakes. She did have a point…and when Hong Long added that it was not a matter of if 'things sold well' and that the amount of enjoyment meant more than just a few mistake here and there just seemed to add more impact. Yeah…he should've just had fun with the whole thing instead of thinking that he was going to screw something up, and even if he did he had fun along the way. Not to mention that both Lockon and Lyle would be with him so he was sure the day would be eventful. By the time he left the sun had already began to set, telling both the slightly small female and her brother that he would come visit sometime soon. He did get lost a few times since he had never traveled said route until that day, but he did managed to make it back to the apartment, finding that all of the children had passed out due to coming down from their sugar high most likely.

Getting them to bed was fairly easy since the three of them all slept in Lyle's bed, though there was no guarantee that all of them would stay there. During the night one of them always wandered into his bedroom and crawl into bed, always between both he and his husband, which was a slightly odd feeling but he quickly got use to it. Once completely tucked in, Setsuna left the room so he could change out of his clothes and slip into the ones he wore around the house. While doing so he would glace over at the boxes that held the doujin, not particularly thinking anything as he did so. It was all for fun…that was the point in the four of them doing all of this, going through all the trouble of working their asses off and putting their blood, sweat and tears into everything. They wanted to show off the best they could, and the option of others and his own perfection shouldn't have stopped him from having some sort of fun.

The following days the youngest began to drill these facts into his head, making sure he thoroughly remembered what their purpose for going to Comiket was. When the day finally arrived his nerves weren't as bad as before, but he was certain that he was suffering from first time jitters. Because they would be selling instead of just being normal participants they needed to get their rather early to setup their booth, its location mailed to them by the convention committee a month before. Fixing it just they way they wanted didn't take too long, and all the while he couldn't help but look around him. He knew a lot of the other sellers having bought from them before, the younger male waving back to them when he was noticed. It felt so…different being there, even when he had been in that very room countless times. Because it wasn't, well, _appropriate_ to have young children in the room Christina and Feldt volunteered to take them around town for a few hours, the 'teams' switching off ever so often.

When the announcement was made that the doors would be opening to the public soon Setsuna tensed, both excitement and anxiety running through his veins as he tried to calm himself. It was…really going to happen…He must've been fidgeting since he felt a hand gently rest itself on his head, his husband telling him that everything was going to be okay. Yeah, everything was going to be okay. When everyone was allowed in it truly was an amazing sight seeing all the people file in, each of them heading over to the booths that interested them. For a good ten minutes no one visited their booth, and of course he began to worry that none of the doujins would've been sold. But before his brain went into panic mode someone decided to take pity on their little booth and buy something, the person commenting that he had seen his work on the internet.

As happy as he was with his first sale, Setsuna really wished the person buying from them had not mentioned that he had his own website. Unfortunately he had not told either twin about it, mainly because he didn't want them visiting it and leaving embarrassing posts in the comment section (because he just knew they would). Of course he was constantly pestered by the twins, the two of them teasing him as they asked if he had posted any porn on his website. The only thing the youngest could do was blush as he served the next person, his intent to kill rising. Each doujin was priced at five hundred yen, and to sellout would've been quite a wonderful thing. It wasn't impossible to do so, but he had heard most first-timers usually didn't. Whatever the outcome was he would be happy with it, and if they did have any leftovers he would keep one for himself as a memento of the day.

About three hours into the convention the Shinjuku duo returned with the kids, meaning that it was finally time to switch off. Setsuna along with the Dylandy twins took the children away, the three of them complaining that they wanted something to eat. He could understood since they had been on their feet for a good while, though he was completely sure that once full they would have enough energy to keep going for the rest of the day. They took the small ones to a maid café, something they enjoyed greatly since the maids played games and sang song with them. All the maid commented on how 'cute' they were, which made Saji blush and Louise glare while Amy just laughed at the both of them. It truly was an amusing sight.

Once full on omurice, strawberry milk and pockey everyone was ready to go (the maids giving the children cat and bunny ears before leaving). Of course there were kid appropriate things around Akihabara…it was just a matter of finding them. Instead of just wandering around like a bunch of idiots and hoping they found something, Setsuna asked the three what show they liked. The consensus was _Pokemon_, and since Akihabara had a rather abundant selection of that merchandise he decided to go with that. He was pretty sure he spent a good four hours just following the three unrelated children around as they spotted toy after toy that they wanted, and the youngest was sure that after that day he'd seriously need a break from those cute fictional creatures.

Along the way he was asked to take a few pictures along with Lockon and Lyle, the children enjoying the show as the people who asked got their shots. He had gotten over his initial dislike for the fact that he was wearing a dress; in fact he found it to be rather comfortable…though all the stares he received from random people were a little unnerving. If they were female he would hear comments about how 'cute' he looked, and if they were male he didn't even want to think about the words that were leaving their mouths. But he should've been happy that so many people wanted to take his picture, and he should've been extremely happy that he hadn't fallen on his face yet (the dress was pretty long). After awhile everyone really needed to take a seat, and apparently he was sitting in his dress wrong and had to be corrected by his sister in law and the young blonde. Apparently that too was a good photo op for other people…

By the time it was everyone was ready to switch Setsuna was completely tired, needing to take a quick nap before he could function properly. So when the children were handed off to group B, allowing for group A to do the 'adult shopping' they had wanted, the youngest told his husband that he needed a small nap before they could continue on. The three of them once again found a bench to rest on, the youngest using Lockon as a pillow. He wasn't quite sure how long he was out, but he did know that he felt much better upon waking up. Now it was time to get down to business…there were quite a few things he needed to buy, and if he didn't hurry they would be sold out.

The first task was to hunt down the doujin games _Sweet Pool_ and _Lucky Dog 1_, as well as the _Togainu no Chi _desktop accessory disk which contained quite a few wallpapers, a desktop calendar and clock as well as a typing game all for his computer. Once that was taken care of he would look around for any DVD box sets of animes he had missed, because he couldn't keep up with everything at once. Getting his hands a few figures and robot models was a given, and he was especially interested in the Nendoroid series. They were basically just chibi versions of anime characters which came with extra arms, bodies, and faces so one could place them in different positions. He was rather eager to get his hands on a Dead Master Nendoroid from the _Black Rock Shooter_ illustration series, which also had an OVA but he wasn't too fond of it (except for the action scenes).

Small trinkets like key chains and cellphone charms would be saved for last, unless there was a limited addition set from some series he really wanted. Walking around was rather interesting since he was stopped by a girl ever now and then who comments on the doujin they had bought from him, the youngest receiving both good and bad critiques. He took both in stride and thanked all of them for their advice, the twins asking if he could really function after the fact. Strangely enough…he could. As he walked throughout the convention center he really didn't think much of what the girls said, in fact he had taken it to heart, making sure he remembered it so the next time he made a doujin he wouldn't make the same mistake. But at that time it didn't seem right for him to freak out over the things people had told him; he was at Comiket with the Dylandy twins and was having a rather good time, so why spoil it with negative thoughts?

While wandering around he managed to find Lichty, who at first glance apparently didn't recognize him since he merely stared for a few moments. His boss merely laughed it off, admitting that he was a bit surprised and a little confused as to why such a pretty (loli) girl had just approached him randomly. Well that is what the youngest looked like…it was the sad truth, but he was at least happy that Christina and Feldt had decided against giving him fake boobs (it went against the character they said…which was true and he was rather thankful for it). The two of them talked for a little while, Lichty admitting that he was rather happy that he was getting a long break since he had a lot of travel plans. Since he was going all the way back to Biei for Obon it was fortunate for their magazine to given them some time off.

Obon…Setsuna was really looking forward to going back home. In fact he really wanted to see how Saji and Louise would take it, since the two of them would be going with them unless informed otherwise. They probably should've been spending Obon with their families, but the way things looked it really wasn't going to happen. It was definitely sad, but it wasn't like he could do anything about it. At the very least the youngest male could make their stay a good one, so that whenever they returned to their respected homes they went back happy.

Lichty told him that he had spotted Liu Mei and her brother heading into the industry booths, the other male adding that she was probably testing out the new fighting game demos they had up. Just by looking at her the term 'gamer' would never apply to her, but in fact she was quite the hardcore player. The younger male learned this fact when he visited her, in which he repeatedly had his ass royally handed to him with each game they played. It was a pretty said sight, and if he was playing with Feldt he at least stood a (small) chance of winning one round. But when playing the other female…there seemed to be no chance of victory for him whatsoever. Curiosity got the better of him and he decided to check it out, just wanted to see if he merely sucked or if she was really was the fierce gamer that he knew her to be.

The industry booths were always an interesting place to be, especially since some companies offered demos of games they would be releasing in the future. Those demos sometimes contained special features that unlocked hidden features in the newly released games, which was always a good thing since it added extra value. It really didn't take much to find her, since the four of them merely had to follow the 'oohs' and 'ahs' until they reached a rather large crowed. Up on a small platform was Liu Mei, fingers swiftly pressing each button on the classic arcade controller she was using, the look on her opponent's face a cross between horrified and absolute desperation. Judging by what was happening on the screen they had every right to look that way.

It looked as if they were playing the latest version of the game _BlazBlue_, the sole female on the stage using the ice wielding Jin Kisaragi while her badly beaten opponent used his older brother, Ragna the Bloodedge. When the match was over Liu Mei hopped down from the stage, the crowed cheering and praising her at she did so. It was merely a glance but she managed to recognize him instantly, the long haired female asking if they had seen her glorious victory. How could they miss it? Apparently that was her fifth time playing, and she probably would've still been at it if her brother hadn't have reminded her that she had wanted to buy something before it sold out. Before leaving she snapped a few photo of the younger male along with the twins, commenting that she would find his booth before closing time. Speaking of the booth…it was probably time for him to go back, at least to check on the others.

But he was completely not ready for what had awaited him…

Shock was the best way for him to describe his reaction upon finding out that there were only _five_ copies of the doujin left, the youngest completely speechless as the girls explained the situation. Five? _Only_ Five? That was…pretty damn good for a group of newbies like them, and he really couldn't help but get a little excited. They were doing well, better than expected in fact. Setsuna road this high until the end of the convention, in which both boxes of doujins they had brought with them had been emptied, and of course this was cause for celebration…though this would have to come later because the children were completely worn out. Once in bed, all of them hugging their own little _Pokemon _stuffed animals, Setsuna retired to his bedroom, an accomplished feelings following him as he did so. There were no words to describe how he felt, how happy he was that he had finally experienced something he had only thought about.

The next week was a little hectic since both he and the twins needed to get ready to return home to the small village. Lockon had called Saji's sister and confirmed with her that it was absolutely okay for him to travel with them, the high school girl admitting that it probably wasn't best for him to come back home. As for Louise her mother was apparently still on travel so that pretty much meant she was coming with them, much to her delight since she got to spend more time with the other two kids. Of course they would have to take the train home, but not the one the youngest usually used to get to Lichty's studio. They would be taking a passenger train, something Setsuna rarely used unless traveling long distances (and they didn't need to worry about anyone driving…especially Hallelujah).

It didn't take long for all of them to finish packing, and once done it was finally time for them to leave for the station. Saji seemed to be a little nervous, which the younger male understood since he was being moved to a place he had never been before. He had reassured him that everything would be fine, that the village was a nice, quaint place that he would no doubt love staying in. That seemed to do the job, but the young blonde girl couldn't help but ask if they lived in a 'hick' village. Well…yeah, they did, and there was nothing to be ashamed of. This seemed to be her main gripe with leaving, especially since she didn't want to 'get her hands dirty by milking a cow'. They didn't live on a farm!

The train ride wasn't all that bad; the second youngest yelled at the 'elder' Haptism because he was constantly kicking the back of his seat, Allelujah trying his best to calm them down. Lockon was asleep while Lyle tried his best to entertain the kids, especially since Louise's mood was pretty sour because she was visiting a 'hick' village. Yes the village wasn't some fancy resort that had an ocean side view, but that was one of its good points. It didn't need flashy sights or white sand beached to impress him, it was its simplicity that had captured his attention and the fact that it _wasn't_ like the city.

Once all of them had completely left the train station, the second youngest pretty much ready to kill Hallelujah, their little group needed to catch the bus to get into the village. It was very…nostalgic to say the least. The bus had always been their main form transportation in the past, the six of them always taking it to get into one of the two towns from the village. He vividly remembered the things he and his friends got into once in one of the towns, be it buying sweets at the convenience store or just walking around town and talking about nothing in particular. They always found something to do, and if there ever wasn't they were sure to make their own fun up. Setsuna would admit that when much younger he was generally annoyed at first with his husband's constant desire to drag him where he wanted, but…he grew to like it like many things about his new life.

As always it never took them long to get to the village, the second youngest and the Haptism twins parting with them since they had their own families to see (well Lilith anyway) though they would most likely meet back up with everyone later in the evening. Walking back to his house felt a bit odd, not because he had not visited in quite some time, that wasn't it…it was more that he felt like a little kid again more than anything. He didn't feel like Setsuna F Seiei the twenty-one year old, but instead he felt like Setsuna F Seiei the ten year old who was going back home. His house hadn't changed at all; the parents who had raised him had aged but had not changed as well, mother still hugging him like she always had and his father patting him on the head the same way he had when the youngest was still just a child. It was enough to make him cry, but he held it together.

The Dylandy twins had taken Amy home so they could see their family, meaning that he had to unpack by himself, which was completely okay. He wanted a little time alone in his old room, especially one spot in particular. Standing in front of his window he recalled his idiot husband yelling _'my name is Neil Dylandy, and I am announcing my love for Setsuna F Seiei! Aishiteru! _Aishiteru!_' _every morning until the youngest had to come down and tell him to shut up. He was such an abnormal child back then, but then again they all were. It was a bit strange how things had turned out of him, but it was a good strange, seeing that he had originally had no inner-ambitions when much younger. He was more than willing to just let his life pass him by, not allowing anyone into his life and becoming completely indifferent to the world.

He was rather happy he hadn't turned out that way…Setsuna knew very well that the world could be cruel, that it could be harsh enough to break anyone…but through the harshness true joy could be found. A life without the people he knew currently didn't seem right or fathomable to him at that point, and the more he thought about it the more he began to see what a foolish child he had been. But who could really blame him? He had been hurt and cast aside by people he thought he could trust, his only means of coping being to shut himself off from the world that had caused him so much pain. The youngest male was rather grateful for his friends, because they he brought him back from such a dark place.

Unpacking didn't take very long, but by the time he had finished he was in great need of a nap. His bed was a bit small, but it was nothing he couldn't manage. It was pretty obvious that if either of the twins saw him they'd comment on how much he was 'perfect fit'. But he'd deal with it when it happened. By the time he had woken up the sun had begun to set, meaning that the festival was going to start in another few hours. Sitting up he stretched slightly before leaving his room, finding both Lockon and Lyle outside with the children as they helped them play with sparklers.

"I know what I'm doing, Pervert!" Louise shouted as she snatched away the sparkler from Lockon.

"Alright, alright, fine…but could you at least give me a different nickname…?"

"…Baka Sensei."

"That's…a little better…"

"Baka Sensei! Baka Sensei!" Amy chanted, obviously enjoying the name much to her brother's dismay.

"Not you too!"

Chuckling a little he walked over, causing Amy to latch onto him. Pick her up he told his husband that the name suited him, because he did act like an idiot from time to time. The older male gave him a small whine before telling him that he was 'too mean'. As always he answered back with an 'I know' before smiling a little at the face the other male gave him.

"Tsuna Onii-chan, when are we going to get ready?" The youngest Dylandy asked, which caught the attention of Louise.

"Get ready for what?" The young blonde questioned.

"The festival! There's lots of yummy food and lots of and games and stuff! Oh! And fireworks!"

The last part seemed to make the young blonde's eyes sparkle, but a few second later she crossed her arms, eyes darting to the side as she commented that maybe visiting 'hick town' wasn't all that bad. Ah, so she was a tsundere. The youngest Dylandy added on that if she wanted the two of them could wear a yukata, and once again Louise's eyes sparkled for just a second before doing back into her Tsun Tsun mode. Her Dere Dere mode apparently didn't last that long. The youngest reassure Saji that he would wear something as well, because Setsuna was sure that his mother had saved a few of his old clothes. Mothers were just like that, and he didn't need to be a genius to figure out why. They wanted to hold on to their little 'baby' for as long as they could, because having them grow up and leave the nest was a pain thing, for both parties.

Both of the Haptism twins and the second youngest joined them after about an hour, Allelujah saying that their mother was doing just fine. Apparently the three of them had spent their hour looking around the house for any alcohol bottles, just to make sure she hadn't fallen back into bad habits. Luckily they only found one unopened one, which she said she had bought earlier for the three of them. This seemed to be truth since she would've opened the thing well before their arrival if she was lying, much to the relief of the three.

Of course Hallelujah being, well, _Hallelujah_, thought the idea of children playing with sparklers was 'stupid'…so of course he brought actual fireworks with him. Nothing big of course, just a few fountains that were much like Roman candles, spitting sparks into the air though one did not actually have to hold it for it to do so. After lighting one everyone ran back before it went off, the children enjoying the colorful sparks that danced around in the air. They went through about five pacts before it was time to call it quiets. Lockon and Lyle took Amy and Louise so they could change at their place, while the second youngest took Saji so he could do that same as his own house. Once inside he asked his mother if she had any of his old jinbei sets in storage somewhere, and without any hesitation she gave him the exact coordinates to the box he needed.

He knew every well that if he didn't ask her he'd spend hours just looking for it, because that was another things mother's always seemed to do…hide things only they could find. He'd spent many hours in the past looking for things that his mother had moved, and once he had exhausted all options he would always go to her, pleading for some kind of help. Without any real effort she found what he was looking for, the younger male always giving her a dumbfound look as a result. The cardboard box he needed seemed rather dusty, but luckily his mother had anticipated this and had covered all of the clothing inside with plastic. Pulling out each article of clothing one by one he was given a few flashbacks as to when he had wore a few of them, like the scarf he wore when he first confessed his love for his husband and the shirt he worse trying to save the 'elder' Haptism's cat.

Upon reaching his old jinbei he smiled a little, finding that it was the very same one he had worn during his very first festival in the village. It seemed rather fitting to allow Saji to wear it.

"Do you need help putting it on?" Setsuna asked the young boy as he hanged him the jinbei set, receiving a slightly head shake as the other's response. He helped the smaller male out of his clothes and into his old festival outfit, a little disappointed that it was a bit big on him but not so much that it would fall off of him.

Once fully clothed Saji practically bolted out of the room, most likely excited to finally get going…but he would have to wait a little while long since Setsuna needed to change as well. Going into his bag he pulled out his yukata designed for males, the youngest doing as much as he could before calling his mother in to help him with the sash. Wearing a yukata was nothing compared to the things Christina and Feldt made him wear, and on that note he remained himself that he probably should've called them later on, along with Liu Mei and Lichty of course. Slipping on his sandals he made his way downstairs, finding that his husband was waiting for him.

"Did I take too long?"

"Of course not," Lockon said as he ran his fingers through the younger male's hair, "You're right on time."

"Good."

And with that the both of them left to join the others. As always the festival was lively, and as always Lyle and Lockon liked to test their skills by playing a few booth games. They were pretty good at the shooting games, so much so that they were banned from playing them one year since they kept winning all of the prizes. The prize weren't for them, instead everything they won went to the youngest who always seemed to take them reluctantly. Where the hell was he going put them all? But this time around things were slightly different; instead of wining all of the prizes just for the younger male, Setsuna had found that their true aim was to win them for the children who would most likely put them to better use than he would.

"Onii-chan! That one!" Amy shouted as she jumped up and down, pointing to the blue stuffed rabbit that was on display.

"Alright then," Lockon said as he picked up the fake gun needed to shoot down the stacked plastic cups, "Prize number one!"

Setsuna watched as his husband aimed the gun, getting the exact angle before firing. It only took one shot for all of the cups to come crashing to the ground, the youngest Dylandy cheering as they did so. The older male really did make it look easy, so much so that the youngest actually wanted to give it a shot. He really wasn't much for festival games, unless there was prize he really wanted…but he had never actually played the shooting games. He was sure it was just like shooting a water gun, all one needed to do was point and fire. That didn't seem hard…but upon firing he found that he could not aim correctly to save his life. He tried several times before getting visibly frustrated, which apparently caught the attention of one of the Dylandy twins.

"Need some help?" Lyle asked as he positioned himself behind the younger male.

"Maybe…" The youngest male muttered, tensing ever so slightly as he felt the older male's hands on his.

"Here, you do it like this."

He allowed Lyle to position him however he wanted, feeling slightly curious as to just what was going to come out of the mouth of his.

"Your technique is a little off-"

Oh no…

"You're holding it a bit too tightly, you should loosen up a bit, stroke it a little- OW!"

"There are children here you pervert…" Setsuna said as he applied a bit more pressure to the older male's foot with his. Seriously, couldn't he save that kind of talk for later?

He apologized nervously before actually helping him, Setsuna shaking his head slightly at his antics. Once he actually hit the cups he felt a little better, though once he looked over and found that his husband was had already won a pile of prizes he mood dulled a little.

"Tsuna Onii-chan, what's wrong?" Amy asked, obviously noticing his odd disputation. She was rather good at picking up when someone was in some kind of distress, and since she was a child she in no way held herself back from what she wanted to say.

The younger male told her that he really wanted to win her and everyone else something, but because he, well, sucked at shoot he was sure it wasn't going to happen. But she merely smiled at him before pulling him away to another booth, one that seemed to be giving Tieria some grief. It was the goldfish game, where one had to use a flimsy little net to scoop up one or more goldfish and place it in a small bucket. The prize was, of course, the goldfish one caught…but the game was notorious for being rigged. The second youngest was experiencing this first hand, the small net he used breaking every time a fish came in contact with it. Frustration was clearing written on his face.

"This game…" The second youngest groaned, throwing down what was apparently his tenth net.

"You know, this is a pretty sad sight." Hallelujah said as he aimed his camera at the other male.

"What are you doing…?

"Documenting your absolute failure at a children's game."

"Shut up!"

"Make me."

And they were at it again. Of course the 'younger' Haptism tried to stop them but it was no use, and the only thing Setsuna could do was sigh at the all too common sight. Getting back on track the younger male asked which fish Amy wanted, knowing full well that the possibility of him actually catching it was low. She looked at the large tube of swimming fish, the expression of deep concentration crossing her face. It was only after a minute that she pointed to a small spotted one, its body covered in orange, black and silver blotches as its fan tail swayed in the water. It did look cute…and it would've been a huge disappointment if he didn't get it for her. No pressure at all…

Picking up one of the many small nets he paced himself, watching the movements of the fish as it began to blend in with the others. He wasn't going to lose it. When he saw and opening he took it, slowly placing the net into the water right underneath it before scooping it up. But the net broke…but it only did so when his hand twitched as soon as the aquatic animal was on the net. So now he knew what to do…Picking up another net he repeated the same action as before, steadying his hand this time as he caught the fish. When it was actually in the net he quickly scooped it up and placed it in the small bucket that sat near him. He had done it, and to further prove that he had the youngest Dylandy practically tackled him in delight.

He had to admit, he was quite happy as well.

Once the fish was bagged and given to Amy he was pretty much dragged around to every booth she thought he could win at, the other children soon joining in. His husband commented that he didn't know that the younger male was so good at playing festival games, to which he replied that he didn't know either. He just had a burning desire to win prizes that year. The only time he got a break was when he spotted the second youngest talking to his cousin, both of the Haptism standing behind him in a protective manner. Setsuna was about to go over but Lockon stopped him, saying that that three of them had to deal with the situation on their own. That was true…but this didn't stop his urge to go over. They watched from afar, watched as Tieria spoke to Ribbons with a stern expression.

The only time the second youngest wavered (along with everyone else) was when his cousin got down on his knees, pressing his forehead against the ground which was a clear sign that he was showing his humiliation. What…the hell was going on? He would admit that he really didn't know that much about Ribbons, but he did know that he was a crafty son of a bitch that would do anything within his power to harm the second youngest. But this…this didn't seem right. The other male's cousin didn't seem like to type to bow to _anyone_, but there he was…on the ground in front of Tieria as if begging for something. When he finally rose he said a few words before leaving, and after a few moment of silence of course the 'elder' Haptism just had to break it with his foul mouth.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?" He shouted, catching the attention of a few people passing by. Glancing over at his husband for conformation he merely received a nod, the younger male taking this a cue for him to finally go over.

"He's got a lot of balls saying all of that shit! I have the right mind to-"

"Is everything alright?" Setsuna interrupted, truly concerned about the second youngest but also wanting to stop Hallelujah from saying anymore profanities.

"He said…" Tieria began, "That he didn't want forgiveness for the things he did to me, which I wouldn't give him anyways…instead he just wanted me acknowledge, if only a little, that he had true feelings for me…"

Ah…so that's what it was. The second youngest didn't look displeased at all as he explained that he did indeed acknowledged the much older male's feelings, in fact he looked calm, as if accepting something. Just what it was Setsuna didn't know, but he could tell that there was a sense of…ease surrounding him. Getting back to the games was apparently a must, because the next thing he knew he was being pulled over to another booth to win her something. This went on for about two hours before complains of 'I'm hungry' began to ring throughout their group. Of course there were stands selling food such as taiyaki, melonpan, korokkes and dango, but the fact that there was food wasn't the problem…it was Louise. Anything she had never had before she wouldn't eat, and since she had never had street food that pretty much ruled most if not everything.

"Don't want…" The young blonde said as she turned her noise up at the imagawayaki that was handed to her.

"But it's filled with jelly and cream cheese…and you have to eat something, you can't go to a festival and not eat anything." Lockon said as he tried his best to get the blonde to eat _something_.

"Says who…"

"Says me."

She stuck her tongue out at him, obviously implying that she didn't care about his authority at all. So that meant another route needed to be taken. Even if she had only been around him for the summer, the youngest knew how she worked…she had weaknesses just like any other person, and it just so happened that the biggest one was standing right next to her. Saji. When she refused to listen to anyone he always seemed to be the voice of reason that got her to do whatever someone else wanted, in her own little way of course. Pulling Saji over to the side he asked him if he could get Louise to eat something, to which he furiously nodded before walking back over to her.

Taking the imagawayaki he broke it in half, presenting the biggest half to the young blonde. He told her that the two of them could share all the food from now on, to which she blushed ever so slightly before accepting her half. Amy just giggled, and he really couldn't help but do the same. The two of them were pretty cute, though when the young blonde noticed that people were laughing at her she gave a loud 'hmph' before turning away. Well, at least they had solved that problem.

After about another hour it was time for the fireworks to start, meaning that they needed to hurry if they wanted to find a good spot to view them. They managed to find a nice patch of grass with a clear view of the sky, Louise, of course, complaining that the grass was itchy. He told her that if she waited she'd forget all about the grass, to which she just looked at him for a moment before staying quiet. A few seconds later it began; the sky filled with brilliant lights of all colors, some of them forming shapes such as hearts and starts. Needless to say the children were completely captivated, their 'oohs' and 'awes' being heard every few seconds as they conversed with one about how 'pretty' they looked. It was very amusing to watch, and it left quite a warm feeling in the center of his chest.

Setsuna…really liked that feeling. He felt so light at the moment, like everything was supposed to be playing out as it should. Yeah…everything was playing out like it was supposed to, he was supposed to be sitting in the grass with the people he care for deeply, watching the fireworks illuminate the sky before dying out but a few seconds later. He was…happy…happy that he hadn't screwed up his life early on so that he would miss out on such wonderful experiences. The youngest was only twenty-one, meaning that there was still a lot more for him to see and do. Of course there would be heartache along the way along with situation that would probably try to break him down as a person, but that was all just a part of life and he would deal with it once it came like always. The adventure of life would continue on.

"Thank you…" The youngest said as he took both of the Dylandy twin's hands into his own, because he was, as always, sitting in the middle.

"For what?" They answered in unison.

"For everything."

* * *

**A/N:** *Cries* See you around!


End file.
